Londoners invited to decide on green proposal for city-wide ban on free shopping bags

London Councils has launched a public consultation on whether free shopping bags should be banned. Londoners are asked their views on a range of options – from doing nothing, to an outright ban on all throw away shopping bags.

In the UK, over 13 billion bags are issued every year to shoppers – roughly 220 per person every year. For London, a conservative figure based on population size would indicate Londoners use at least 1.6 billion bags per year.

Some of these bags will be re-used, but official figures reveal that only one in 200 is recycled, while the rest are sent to landfill. Many of these are plastic bags that can take over 400 years to break down.

The consultation runs until Friday 26 October, and the views expressed in responses to the consultation will help shape the final proposal that will go into the 10th London Local Authorities Bill, due to be deposited in Parliament in November.

To read the consultation document, and to respond online, go to: http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/doc.asp?docId=20764