Ecosheek Bag Company News

15 November – Ecosheek

The London Assembly debate today examined the London Councils' proposal for an outright ban on free single use plastic bags in London. There were statements by representatives of several of the UK supermarkets, a representative from the plastic bag manufacturers' association and questions from the gallery from, among others, the London Small Retailers Association and Ecosheek Bags.

The major retailers made a strong case for the individual efforts that they are making to reduce plastic bag use (or develop bags from biodegradable materials) and while there was resistance to a purely London based levy from some quarters, there was a consensus of opinion that some form of levy would dramatically reduce the consumption of plastic bags and raise public awareness and moreover, that it should be led by central government.

Unfortunately, it is our opinion that while this proposal raises an important topic of debate, we do not believe that any action will be implemented either in London or Nationally. It is therefore up to individual towns and boroughs to progress this policy further on a local scale, until momentum and public opinion propel it once more onto the national agenda.

6 November – Ecosheek

The new Ecosheek website is now fully live, many thanks to the patience of our web developer Hannah King in producing such a fabulous site and we hope to see you all testing the full gamut of bags on offer in the near future.

25 October – Cornishman Newspapers

An article today reported the efforts of a St Ives councillor, Katrina Slack, to make St Ives in Cornwall a plastic bag free town in the same vein as Modbury in Devon.

Ecosheek are endeavouring to help this cause by offering a standard range of "St Ives" branded bags that could be sold to the smaller retailers of the town in manageable quantities. It has been suggested that a competition, either open, or between the town's school children, could provide the winning design.

25 September – Ecosheek

1% for the planet now has 99 members in Europe!

19 September - Telegraph

Shoppers could pay a tax every time they get a plastic bag under controversial "green" plans approved by the Liberal Democrats.

Grassroots delegates at the party's annual conference in Brighton urged party bosses to consider an Irish-style tax on plastic bags. Lib Dems have put the fight against global warming centre-stage at their week-long conference, which has the slogan: The Environment – Action Now.

But the new tax move, announced during a debate on packaging, came in the face of warnings that the levy would actually worsen carbon emissions. Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem MP leading a campaign against excess packaging, said that the tax could simply lead to shoppers switching to other bags and actually lead to more pollution. She indicated that road haulage emissions could increase as a container lorry, which could transport 1.5m plastic bags, could only carry just over 50,000 paper bags.

Ms Swinson, the party's spokesman on women and equality, argued instead for a deposit scheme on plastic bags to encourage people to re-use them.
advertisement. The conference also backed a motion calling for new laws to force supermarket to provide waste points, allowing customers to remove unwanted packaging before they leave the store.

14 September - BBC News

Londoners have been asked to vote on whether they want a tax levied on all disposable shopping bags or a total ban to ease the impact on the environment. The consultation launched by London Councils, a lobby group for the city's councils, proposes a 10p levy on all bags, including plastic ones. Every year Londoners use at least 1.6bn bags, of which only one in 200 are recycled, official figures showed.The group aims to reduce waste sent to landfill sites.

People are being given seven options which range from taking no action to an outright ban. Options also include a levy or ban on only plastic bags.London Councils Chairman Councillor Merrick Cockell said: "This is about changing habits. People need to realise that the free plastic bag they pick up in the supermarket is not really free at all - certainly not in its cost to the environment. "Introducing a levy on plastic bags should help consumers think twice before picking them up in future," he added.

According to figures revealed by the group, even though 45% shoppers claim to have bought a reusable bag only 12% use it regularly. The group said if a levy is imposed on bags then the revenue generated will go into building additional recycling facilities. The views from people will go into shaping the 10th London Local Authorities Bill which will be then placed before the Parliament. The consultation will be open until 26 October.

31 August - Ecosheek

Updated and rebranded Ecosheek website goes live, european language sites will be upgraded over the coming months. The full e-commerce pages will be unrolled over the next month.

We are interested in your views and opinions about our new site and of course the first person to notify us of any teething problems or glitches will be sent a complimentary Ecosheek bag.

13 July - British Retail Consortium

Plans for a tax on plastic carrier bags in London are being slammed by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) which says the idea is born of ignorance and flies in the face of a national voluntary agreement retailers reached with the Government just months ago. London's Boroughs are said to be seeking to use the London Local Authorities Bill to gain the power to impose the new tax on customers.

BRC Director General Kevin Hawkins said: "Let's get bags in perspective. They represent a fraction of one per cent of waste going to landfill.

"An across the board cut or even ban on bags is not appropriate. They are needed for unplanned shopping trips. They protect large and easily damaged items. If you buy a suit or a dress, for example, you will want a bag and are unlikely to have a suitable one to bring from home. Retailers of expensive items such as clothes or electricals also value them as a way of beating the rising tide of shoplifters.

"The effect of the Irish bag tax is waning and supporters ignore its unintended consequences. Retailers have switched to heavier paper bags and sales of thick black plastic bin bags have shot up as customers no longer have shop bags to line bins. Both use more energy in manufacture and transport and are more environmentally harmful than thin plastic carrier bags.

"Local authorities would make a better contribution by standardising what material they will and won't recycle to simplify the recycling message."

" This negative rebutal by the BRC needs to be examined a little closer.. BRC DG Kevin Hawkins says that plastic bags represent a fraction of one percent of waste going to landfill but what percentage do they represent once all the biodegradeable waste has been removed? and what percentage should we view as acceptable?
An outright ban might not be appropriate as he says but that was never one of the proposals put forward by the London Councils In circumstances where they are essential to protect easily damaged or expensive items, then surely the proposed 10p tax will represent a small part of the purchase price - the customer could of course be offered a sustainable and ethical cotton bag for their purchase.
If a London (or UK) plastic bag tax was used to improve the availabilty of sustainable alternatives and the accessibility and scope of Local Authority recycling then some of the problems seen in Ireland could be avoided" - Ecosheek Editor.