Following the introduction of a charge on using plastic bags in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, England introduces a 5p charge for each plastic bag used at larger stores like superstores. The purpose of this charge is to deter consumers from using plastic bags which is proving to be one of the greatest nuisances of our modern lifestyle.
These plastic bags are not bio-degradable and take years before they are fully destroyed and thus plastic bags end up in landfill sites, choke up seas and oceans causing damage to marine ecosystems. Plastic bags cause soil pollution by reducing the fertility of soil, which in turn reduces the growth of vegetation, forest cover and wild meadows which in turn affect the quality and quantity of wild life and loss of top soil via soil erosion. They also clog up drains and sewers causing floods and layers of plastic also affect the quantity of ground water by reducing the ability of soil to absorb water.
Having identified some of the major problems caused by plastic bags, the introduction of 5p charge seems an excellent idea but will it achieve what it purports to achieve. In its present form this policy of the Government seems to be self-defeating. Firstly this 5p charge for each plastic bag is not to be charged by all retailers but only by big businesses that employ more than 250 employees; though smaller businesses could introduce the same voluntarily. But if they do so they stand to lose in such a competitive world which would discourage smaller businesses from doing their bit for the environment.
There are also a number of exemptions to the rules with stores not charging for bags for products such as raw fish and meat, loose fruit and vegetables as well as goods with open blades such as knives and razor blades. Existence of such exemptions would put customers and retail staff on a collision course, in anticipation of such situations employers have trained or are training their staff how to deal with argumentative customers resulting in increased costs for the employers. Besides this the absence of an eco-friendly alternative does not help the situation.
Time would reveal how successful this policy of the government to charge 5p for each plastic bag will be. But whether this charge works or not, RECYCLING works as Japan has proved it to the world. At 77%, Japan's plastic recycling rate is about twice that of the UK, and well above the 20% figure for the US.
I was born in 1982 as a normal child until the age of four when I started having frequent falls and difficulty in getting up from the floor and I was walking on my toes and was diagnosed as having Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy which is a terminal genetic disorder. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is caused by deletion or duplication of the dystrophin gene which produces a protein with the same name (dystrophin). This protein helps in the repair of muscles; and the absence of which results in the muscles becoming tight and weak and ultimately the muscles would lose mobility. As a result of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy I am completely wheelchair bound, fully dependant for personal care, cannot swallow food and therefore I am fed via PEG tube, and I cannot even write or type but I am fortunate that I can use computer mouse and thanks to technology I use On-Screen Keyboard to click each alphabet using the mouse. Thus with the use of technology in my case I can say “Mouse (not Pen) is mightier than the Sword”.
