Daily Mail - 01.08.2019

Page  QQQ Daily Mail, Thursday, August 1, 2019

INSIDE: Kurosu 4, Puzzles 43-46, TV 58-61,

Cainer 6, Letters 64 & 65, City & Finance 74-

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FANTASTIC! SHOPPERS HAVE

RISEN TO MAIL’S CHALLENGE

‘toxic relationship’ with plastic. Theresa

Villiers says: ‘Our comprehensive action

to slash plastic waste and leave our

environment in a better state contin-

ues to deliver results, with our 5p

charge reducing plastic bag sales by 90

per cent in the big supermarkets.

‘No one wants to see the devastating

impact plastic waste is having on our

precious wildlife. Today’s figures are a

powerful demonstration that we are

collectively calling time on being a

throwaway society.

‘Every Daily Mail reader who has led

the way by using and reusing a bag for

life, or other sustainable alternative,

can be confident that they have con-

tributed to a cleaner, greener, health-

ier environment.

‘The British public has risen to the

challenge put to them by the Daily

Mail’s long-standing Banish the Bags

campaign.’

The 549million figure – an annual

fall of 45 per cent – relates to last year

and covers stores in England owned

by Asda, Marks & Spencer, Morri-

sons, Sainsbury’s, the Co-op, Tesco

and Waitrose.

Taking in all supermarkets with more

than 250 employees, bag sales fell 37

per cent in 2018/19 to 1.11billion.

The Mail’s call for a levy was resisted

Continued from Page One

front page

that changed

your

world

OUR addiction to plastic bags has been broken thanksBy fthDilMil’B ihthBJason Groves andDaniel Martin

Before the Mail’s campaign

triumph, each of us used 140

plastic bags a year. Now it’s 19

y,see pages 12-

From the Mail: July 2018

Bring own container

and get 25p off at M&S

SHOPPERS will be given a

25p discount on fresh

takeaway food at Marks &

Spencer if they bring their

own containers.

The deal covers lunch meals

at ‘Market Place’ outlets in 23

stores around the country.

The chain already offers a 25p

discount to customers bring-

ing reusable cups for coffee.

Paul Willgoss of M&S said:

‘Our priority is to reduce sin-

gle-use packaging and ensure

any we do use can be reused or

recycled, as we work towards

our 2022 target for all our pack-

aging to be widely recyclable.

Food-to-go is a growing mar-

ket, so finding solutions in this

space is an important part of

our wider plan.’

Waitrose launched a trial in

June in Oxford that involved

taking more than 200 products

out of their packaging and sell-

ing them loose to shoppers

who bring containers.

The company is extending

the Unpacked scheme follow-

ing an ‘overwhelmingly posi-

tive response’. The refillable

zones have pasta, coffee and

other products on sale.

CAMPAIGN

PLASTIC

TURN THE

TIDE ON

by the Treasury amid claims it would

be unpopular with consumers and

retailers. But it was finally introduced

in October 2015 by George Osborne.

The charge on plastic bags is not the

only measure to stop the tide of plastic

pollution that this newspaper has

championed.

Others include a world-leading ban

on microbeads, a deposit return

scheme on bottles and cans to come

into force by 2023, and a ban on the

supply of plastic straws, stirrers and

cotton buds in April 2020. The Gov-

climate change,’ he told

Channel 4 News. ‘Because of

the climate change risk,

because of the speed of

adjustment, we are going to

stress test the UK financial

system to see how ready it is

for climate change.’

Mr Carney said the Bank’s

job was ‘to make sure the

financial system can be there

and provide the funds for

whatever path the country

chooses to take’.

He added: ‘The country is

moving to net zero carbon

by 050. That is a legislative

objective and that is going to

require some pretty major

changes. Companies that

don’t adapt, including com-

panies in the financial sys-

tem, will go bankrupt with-

out question.’

COMPANIES that fail to pre-

pare for climate change will

go bankrupt, according to

the governor of the Bank of

England.

Mark Carney also said the

Bank had been asked by the

Government to assess how

well prepared the economy

was for global warming.

‘The Government has said

to us one of your responsi-

bilities when you look at the

stability of the financial sys-

tem is to look at the risk from

Carney: Climate change

will make firms go bust

ernment is also planning to tax

plastic packaging that is not

at least 30 per cent from recy-

cled content.

Maddy Haughton-Boakes, of

the Campaign to Protect Rural

England, said: ‘The continued

reduction in plastic bag use in

our supermarkets is yet more

evidence of the huge impact

that a small financial incentive

can have.

‘Theresa Villiers must now

build on this success by rolling

it out to all small shops, as well

as larger retailers and

supermarkets.

‘There is also absolutely no

reason why the charge

shouldn’t be applied to all

bags, paper as well as plastic,

to bring an end to the use of

these single-use items

altogether.

‘Another small financial

incentive the Government

must hurry up and introduce

is a deposit return system for

every single drinks can, bottle

carton and pouch of all shapes,

sizes and materials.

‘By placing a small deposit on

all drinks containers, we will

boost recycling rates to over 90

per cent, create a circular econ-

omy for the tens of billions con-

sumed each year, and bring an

end to the environmental dam-

age they cause.’

Comment – Page 18

By Theresa

Villiers

SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

BREAKING up is hard to do, even when

you know the relationship is toxic.

So congratulations to shoppers and

supermarkets in England for moving on

from the flimsy plastic carrier bag and

finding a better way to get their gro-

ceries home.

Today, one week into my new role as

Environment Secretary, I’m delighted

to say that plastic bag sales have

dropped by more than 90 per cent in

the main supermarkets since 015.

Such a steep reduction tells a clear

story: of society’s growing concern

about the damage caused by plastic lit-

ter to the environment and vulnerable

species, and our growing determina-

tion to do what we can to help.

The new figures reveal the positive,

long-term impact of the 5p charge.

The average person in England now

buys ten bags a year from the big seven

supermarkets, down from 140 bags in

pre-charge days.

Every Daily Mail reader who has led

the way by using and reusing a bag for

life, or other sustainable alternative,

can be confident that they have contrib-

uted to a cleaner, greener, healthier

environment. The British public have

risen to the challenge put to them by

the Daily Mail’s longstanding Turn The

Tide On Plastic campaign.

Those who have paid for a 5p bag,

meanwhile, can take comfort from

knowing that retailers have donated

£169million to good causes from the pro-

ceeds of the scheme to date. Yet there is

still much more we can all do – govern-

ment included – to spare our natural

environment from further harm.

In the UK we use an estimated five mil-

lion tons of plastic each year, nearly half

of which is packaging. There is no mis-

taking the strength of feeling about the

need to tackle pollution from plastics

that can take hundreds of years to

decompose.

This is felt in every area and in every

age group; but my campaigning work

on this issue in my constituency in Bar-

net makes me especially aware of the

deep concern about this felt by children

and young people. I agree we need to

go further. So I am looking at ways to

extend the scope of the bag charge,

and at other measures to reduce the

amount of plastic waste entering the

environment in the first place.

I am determined as the new secretary

of state that we will make real and

measurable progress in delivering our

ambition to eliminate avoidable plastic

waste within 5 years.

For example, we want producers to

pay for the entire cost of dealing with

the plastic packaging waste they cre-

ate, up from 10 per cent now, to encour-

age the use of alternative products that

are less damaging.

The plummeting rates of plastic bag

use confirmed today illustrate that

making small changes to daily habits

can help us reset our relationship with

the natural world.

The plastic bag charge is testament to

the power we have to make a lasting

difference when we work together on

behalf of the planet.

COMMENTARY

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