Since the
The Republic of Ireland started levying a
plastic bag tax of 15 cents (9p) on every bag given to shoppers the numbers of disposable bags being thrown away has
plummeted...
The success of this tax in reducing waste (by
40% in one year) has led to the
British (who use
134 bags each and a total of
8,000,000,000 shopping bags a year), the
Australians,
Indians and
Taiwanese to consider implementing similar measures in order to encourage shoppers to use fewer bags.
With a small plastic bag tax an incentive exists to
recycle bags or purchase
long-lasting cotton or
jute bags which biodegrade when thrown away rather than persist for many years in
landfile, block drains or pose a threat to wildlife.
See this Irish site for
10 easy steps to make a difference.