London leaders press ahead with plastic bag ban

The consultation ran from 14 September to 26 October and London Councils said last week that it would press for action after almost 60% of respondents voted in favour of an outright ban.

However, it decided on Tuesday (13 November) not to take the step of imposing a plastic bag tax on shoppers.

"The levy is off the table basically," said a spokesman.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said there was no clear evidence that a plastic bag tax would be beneficial on either broad environmental or litter-reduction grounds.

"This is because people would be encouraged to use bags made from other materials or alternative forms of packaging instead, which may be equally or more damaging to the environment," it said.

Following the consultation results last week, Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) chief executive Liz Goodwin said charging was "one way of tackling the environmental impact of plastic bags", but using recycled content, lighter-weight material and 'bags for life' would make a "huge difference".

London Councils chairman Merrick Cockell said: "The campaign to rid the capital of the environmental blight of throwaway shopping bags begins here. As a society, we need to do far more to reduce the amount of waste we are sending to landfill and London as a city is determined to take an ambitious lead on this issue."

He urged all Londoners to voice their support to their MP and back the London Local Authorities (Shopping Bag) Bill, which is due to be deposited in parliament on 27 November.

London Councils said retailers would still be able to sell plastic bags. However, it hopes that any profits generated from the sale of bags will be channelled into environmental projects.

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