Carrier bags are a potent symbol of our throwaway society. They may be a small component of the waste stream but they are an extremely visible one -whether hanging in a hedgerow or choking sea creatures. It simply cannot be right that UK shoppers take 13 billion of these bags a year, when the reusable bag is a much more sustainable alternative. That is why governments all over the world - from Rwanda to Bangladesh to China - have taken firm action to phase out bags. Our own neighbours in Ireland have had a successful tax on bags since 2002, which has reduced consumption of plastic carrier bags by over 90 percent.
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