Hill Road Traders Association

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Hill Road Traders Association
Presented by Ian Durston Luke
Murray from Greener Footprints
A Plastic Bag Free Clevedon?

• 25th September 2007

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What Is Greener Footprints?

• Local group specifically for Clevedon
• Core team plus wider group
• Aim is to reduce Clevedons envioronmental
  footprint
• Based on Chew Magnas Go Zero
• Desire to work with schools, shops, churches,
  businesses
• Have canvassed wider group on key concerns
• Very much in infancy

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How Much Waste?

• The UK produces more than 454 million tonnes of
  waste every year

• Landfill is responsible for 25 per cent of our
  emissions of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas

• Landfill sites, space is running out and waste
  tonnage continues to rise

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How Much Waste?

• The volume of waste produced in the UK in less
  than two hours would fill the Albert Hall

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What is the Effect?
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What is the Effect?
Argentina's Upsala Glacier was once the biggest
in South America, but it is now disappearing at a
rate of 200 metres per year.
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What is the Effect?

• Plastic bags kill at least 100,000 birds,
  whales, seals and turtles every year.
• A Bryde's whale died on a beach in Cairns,
  Australia after ingesting 6 square metres of
  plastic - including plastic bags.
• Marine Conservation Societys Beachwatch 2003
  Report states that along a 135km stretch of UK
  coastline 5,831 plastic bags were found -
  equating to 43 plastic bags for every kilometer
  of UK cosatline.

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Some Plastic Bag Statistics!

• Every person in the UK uses an average of 167
  plastic bags every year.
• Between 10bn and 15bn carrier bags are used in
  the UK each year.
• A plastic bag takes up to 500 years to decay in
  landfill.

• A person uses a plastic bag for on average for
  less than 12 minutes.

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What is Happening Elsewhere?
The Irish Government introduced a 15-cent tax on
plastic bags in 2002 This cut bag use by 93 per
cent, according to the Irish Marine and Natural
Resources Ministry, After the tax, bags
accounted for only 0.2 per cent of litter against
5 per cent before the levy was introduced. Scottis
h parliament estimates that the same reduction in
Scotland would be equivalent to reduction of 92
million car kilometres.
and Could Happen Here
Daily Mail (14th July 2007) Shoppers will be
forced to pay a 10p tax on plastic bags under
controversial plans designed to cut landfill
waste and encourage recycling
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What Would Be The Affect on Traders?
Retailers in Ireland are reported to have found
the effects on their well-being from the carrier
bag levy as either neutral or positive and
implementation costs being modest and generally
less than the savings resulting from not having
to purchase the bags
Tesco Ireland have reported that Customers are
telling us that they broadly welcome the
introduction of the levy.
The Chamber of Commerce in Ireland welcomed the
levy.
Anecdotal evidence overwhelmingly suggests that
consumers increased use of reusable bags. This
is reinforced by reported savings by retailers as
a result of reduced purchase of bags.
(Evidence to the Environment Committee on
Environmental Levy on Plasti Bags (FoE))
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Other Benefits?
Other areas that have done this have received
huge publicity
The Clevedon Mercury have expressed a strong
interest in Greener Footprints and covering this
type of activity