I read a small article last week, which to me perfectly encapsulated the ‘shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted’ metaphor.

It was written about the suggestions of an MP on how to help minimise our use of plastic bags when grocery shopping. And, as usual, clearly demonstrated the lack of foresight our university-educated, supposedly socially and economically aware, custodians of the country have when it comes to common sense issues.

Although I can never fault the intended merits of the proposed outcome, it seems time and time again their visions of how to best solve issues such as this is reactive rather than pro-active.

The proposal in question was based on the principal of charging shoppers around 5p for a plastic bag at the checkout, the idea being that it should drastically reduce the amount of plastic bags used. In essence, a very worthy idea, and anything that takes strides towards improving the environment is wholeheartedly welcomed.

However, its not really striking the problem at the root cause is it?
The levy that needs to be imposed should be on the retailers and manufacturers themselves. Or at least, the pleas to stop using them should be directed at those who supply them or offer them to us. Why not pass legislation limiting the amount of plastic bags a retailer can produce each year? Or setting a percentage that must not be exceeded?

Surely fixing the engine that runs the machine, rather than the end user having the onus on them, is the best long-term environmental and economic option.
Make the manufacturers accountable for the packaging and waste they produce; insist they switch to degradable alternatives to plastic bags, such as paper. Why not produce a branded ‘rucksack’ for each shopper – producing a reusable rucksack instead could offset the cost of buying millions of bags.

In short, there are hundreds of better, more impactful ways to address this problem – not the lazy route of taxation, which always seems to be the fallback option.

The suggestion to tax the use of bags is not new either – it was introduced in Ireland and proposed in several other countries including Bangladesh up to five years ago. Although in Ireland it met with initial huge success, I’m not aware of any long-term sustained benefit.
Also, it wont do anything to stop those already produced, or I doubt smaller independent stores will comply. And there is also a worry that any added tax costs may end up being swallowed by the consumer – don’t tell me the supermarkets are not beyond the ‘we will pay the tax for you’ ruse.

This topic could run and run, I’m merely outlining the possibilities that were missed, as well as the implications not addressed. I mean, what about packaging of goods, junk mail-shots, and ironically, the use of plastic bags by charities for donations?

Although imposing a tax may work to some degree, it wont eliminate those bags already in use; it wont eliminate the use of those little plastic bags inside the supermarkets for vegetables; it wont eliminate the use of them for rubbish collection; in short, it wont eliminate their production.

As I said, anything, which shows an attempt to help reduce such waste and minimise environmental damage, is applaudable – but the real target should be the manufacturing process and the drafting of proposals on how to package goods better.