Rugby MP Mark Pawsey has voiced his opposition to a recent ‘Break the Bag Habit’ campaign, led by groups such as the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which calls on the Government to introduce a levy on all single-use bags. As Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Packaging, and the owner of a packaging company in Rugby for 25 years before becoming an MP, Mark has considerable knowledge of the industry and believes a levy on plastic bags would not work.
Speaking about the campaign, Mark said:
“The state of the environment is important to all of us, but we cannot continue to lay blame on plastic bags. I am unable to support this campaign because I believe that evidence suggests plastic bags do not have nearly as big an impact on the environment as those that oppose them claim they have. The alternatives, such as a cotton bag, has to be used 173 times before its enormous environmental impact equals the humble plastic bag. In addition given that plastic carrier bags are also re-used by around 80% of households, it is my belief that trying to rid this country of plastic bags is not the only way to help our environment.”
Mark continued:
“Put into perspective, the total annual UK consumption of 6.5 billion carrier bags has the same environmental impact of just one average 8 mile journey for every car in the UK. Because of this, I don’t think that there is any scientific justification for the ‘Break the Habit Campaign.”