Petition for 10p tax on plastic bags

Plastic Bag Tax Petition receives 10,000 signatures in 2 months - 20th September 2007

An online petition at www.green-england.co.uk has received over 10,000 signatures in less than two months. The petition is in support of a 10p tax on each plastic bag issued, to be spent explicitly on environmentally friendly projects. The petition has been officially endorsed by the Green Party, as well as a number of councillers throughout the country. In Ireland, a tax of 15cents per bag resulted in a 90% drop in plastic bag usage, and raised 3.5 million Euros which was spent on environmental projects. Bangladesh has banned polythene bags altogether while Taiwan and Singapore are taking steps to discourage their use.

Green England are working closely with the London Councils, who are planning to propose a bill for the tax in November, and are currently running a public consultation to discuss how the levy will function. The petition will provide evidence of public support for the tax.

People in Britain use an average of 300 plastic bags every year. Each bag lasts up to 400 years, spending the vast majority of that time in a landfill site or strewn across the British countryside. People are becoming increasingly aware that we need to reduce our use of plastic bags.

Green England encourage people to take small steps to change their lifestyle and help the environment. We hope a 10p tax will make people think twice about taking a plastic bag they don't need, and instead remembering to bring a re-usable bag with them.

For more information, please contact press@green-england.co.uk.