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As a piece of green activism it's untaxing enough for even the most planet-trashing petrolhead: remembering to take a bag with you to the shop rather than getting one there which you throw away. As a result, campaigns against plastic carrier bags have been popular recently: they're easy. So why is it that the Mayor's plan to rid London of plastic bags by 2012 is merely “aspirational”, according to City Hall?
In fairness to Boris Johnson, the aim is part of his wider draft waste strategy, launched yesterday. Still, his bags drive does illustrate just how limited the powers are of London's Mayor — the politician with the biggest personal mandate in Britain and elected leader of western Europe's largest city.
For when it comes to plastic bags, Johnson has no powers to impose taxes or to change the law. He can talk to retailers and use his moral authority — charm, even — to help persuade them to cut customers' use of bags. Some are already moving in that direction, with M&S slashing bag consumption by more than 80 per cent since it started charging 5p for larger bags in 2008. Meanwhile the Mayor can try to persuade the rest of us through publicity, as he already has tried on recycling.
But he cannot compel retailers or individuals to do, or not do, anything.
I wish him well in his campaign: anything to reduce the 13 billion plastic bags consumed each year in Britain would cut both waste and litter. Frankly, though, they are a tiny part of the challenge of cutting the four million tonnes of waste that London produces every year, much of which ends up in landfill.
Johnson is right that we have to reduce that mountain of trash, not least because of rising landfill taxes. But what we do with our rubbish is determined by each of London's 33 boroughs. They have widely varying success rates on recycling — anywhere from 15 to 50 per cent of the total rubbish collected on their patch. So it's here that the limitations of Johnson's plans are more serious.
He is putting money into designing new recycling collection points for blocks of flats. He is requesting money from Westminster for an anti-litter campaign. He is writing to council leaders to get them to “redouble their efforts” on recycling. And he will support a waste gasification plant in Dagenham.
It's well-meaning. But it's not going to galvanise anyone — least of all Labour council leaders — into action.
Johnson's predecessor saw this weakness. One of the additional powers that Ken Livingstone demanded in 2006 was a city-wide waste authority, giving the Mayor the power to shake up recalcitrant town halls. Instead, while then Environment Secretary David Miliband gave him extra planning powers, he denied him the waste authority — prompting Livingstone to launch a bitter tirade. Instead we got the London Waste and Recycling Board, a largely toothless body, chaired by Johnson, that can act as a broker between councils and the private sector but can't actually change much itself.
Waste is smelly as well as boring. But it matters. And it's a sad indication of just how little importance central government still accords London's elected Mayor: they won't even let him empty our bins.
Reader views (3)
It's a hassle carry bags around all day. I msotly pop into my local Tesco on the way from somewhere else. If I plan to go shopping specifically I take a bag. But if I've been out and about all day and decide to do some shopping on the way home, am I meant to go home first to pick up my bag.
Also I use my carrier bags as bin liners. So if bags were banned, I'd have to buy plastic bin liners. So I wouldn't be saving any bags at all.
People should be free to use plastic bags if they want. There is much worse that goes on in this country and the world than the use of plastic bags.
- Steve Jones, London, 23/02/2010 11:00
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Anyone who thinks Boris is interested in anything other than becoming prime minister are made. Plastic Bags? do us a favour. This friend of the bankers has much more serious things to do, like making money for instance.
- Jimmy, london England, 19/01/2010 17:21
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We have returned here after living in France for two years. The supermarkets there do not hand out plastic bags at all.Once we got used to the idea of taking bags with us, it really wasn't a problem.
We now always take our (French) bags shopping. Why not?
That's what all our mums and dads did.
- Ronnie, what used to be England, 19/01/2010 15:36
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