Analysis: plastic bags

The war on plastics bags has intensified in recent months, with the main culprits, the major supermarkets, launching numerous schemes to help educate consumers.

Tesco has introduced biodegradable bags to criticism from its rivals. Sainsbury’s has announced plans to replace its white carrier bags with orange bags, made from 33 per cent recycled material, while Waitrose has refused to jump on the biodegradable bandwagon, blaming a lack of composting facilities.

The solutions may differ but everyone is agreed the problem is real. Eight billion bags are currently used every year within the UK. But are the supermarkets serious or is this all little more than an opportunity to score ‘green points’ over each other?

According to David Tyson, chief executive of the Packaging and Industrial Films Association (PIFA), which represents bag manufacturers, the conflicting schemes and ideas have led to a simplification of the facts, which doesn’t reflect the true picture.

“What we are getting is a confused state of affairs from different retailers. The producers and the retailers need to get together to talk about the real facts. We can’t just assume that consumers have all the facts,” he says.

Visible litter
WRAP, the not-for-profit firm created in 2000 as part of the government’s waste strategy, works with most of the major supermarkets on recycling issues, including plastic bags.

“Carrier bags are an iconic feature of the modern world and create a lot of visible litter. There is a choice for many retailers as to which direction to go on bags, and WRAP tries to advise where we can on the potential environmental impact of these decisions,” says Julia Falcon, project manager for WRAP’s retail innovation team.

The news that Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, was introducing degradable bags was welcomed by WRAP and environment minister Ben Bradshaw, but condemned by Friends of the Earth as ‘greenwash’. “They are still plastic and they are still made from oil. When they are sent to landfill, they cannot break down because they need sunlight,” says Sandra Bell, spokesperson for Friends of the Earth.

However, WRAP, which would ultimately like to introduce a code of practise for retailers, must adopt a gentler approach if it is going to get further progress from the supermarkets.  “Individually the retailers are all moving ahead, but by the very nature of retail environment, they will do it in different ways,” says Falcon.

Some headway is being made, however. For all the different strategies, almost all supermarket campaigns focus on the WRAP-approved three Rs approach: reduction, reuse and recycle (see below). “We encourage the reuse of shopping bags wherever possible, and for the bags to be recycled at the end of life whenever possible,” says Falcon.

PIFA agrees with this strategy, but is also concerned that the traditional polyethylene bag shouldn’t be dismissed. “There is a perception that plastic bags are a major problem in the waste stream, but they account for less than one per cent. There is also a perception that they are a great litter problem but they account for 0.3 per cent – much less than cigarettes, chewing gum and fast food,” says Tyson.

Energy from waste policy
PIFA would prefer a life-cycle analysis of all the alternatives to see which are the most environmentally responsible. It advocates an ‘energy from waste policy’ and the burning of waste to produce energy as in other European countries.

One solution may already be on the market. IKEA has introduced compostable carrier bags derived from renewable corn crops. They are made from an annually renewed crop and utilise advanced technologies, which combine corn-based polylactic acid (PLA) with biodegradable resins to minimise overall environmental impacts.

“The bag has high strength and an excellent capability for ongoing reuse in the home. But at the end of its life it is suitable for inclusion in composting schemes without any danger of contamination of the composted materials,” says Adam Dickinson, development director at Europackaging, which produces the bag.

But PIFA remains to be convinced. “If you grow crops for plastics, then how much water – another valuable resource – does that use?” asks Tyson. “We need to understand these factors to discover which are the more environmentally friendly.”

However, Tyson is confident for the future for plastic bags. He believes they will evolve with different technologies and the most efficient solutions will prove the most successful. “Plastic bags will continue to be used for a long time to come because they are so efficient at the job they do,” he says.

WRAP is now researching materials that can be used to produce bags, while the Environment Agency is conducting life-cycle analysis into bags. “At present there are a lot of people talking and a lot of research taking place. The challenge is to bring the retailers together,” says Falcon.

That research should be available later this year and then, maybe, there will be a clearer idea for the plastic bag of the future.

Retailer options
According to Friends of the Earth, the UK uses eight million bags every year. That is over 300/year/ house-hold  or 134/person. Only one in every 200 is recycled.

WRAP says retailers have the following options for reduction, reuse or recyling of plastic bags:

- to encourage reuse by promoting Bags 4 Life or reusable bags

- to use recyclable materials or include recyclate in their bags

- to produce biodegradable bags that may be compostable

- or to use degradable bags

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