London Councils Back Bag Tax

London Councils has called on government to help London take a bold stand for the environment, by introducing a 10p levy on plastic bags � or even introducing an outright ban. While recycling is one way of cutting the damage to the environment caused by the millions of tonnes of waste Londoners generate each year, waste prevention and minimisation must be the long term aim. This is what the proposed levy on plastic bags is seeking to achieve. The leaders of London's local authorities have put forward proposals for a new bill that will give councils a range of new powers designed to make the capital a greener and safer place to live � with the plastic bag tax spearheading them. At present over 13 billion plastic carrier bags are issued every year � with only one in 200 being recycled. This means that billions of them are sent to landfill every year � and each bag can take up to 400 years to breakdown. As London's local authorities are at the sharp end of waste disposal and recycling, they have decided to take lead on the issue by proposing either a levy or an outright ban. If the levy option is pursued any revenue will be channelled into building more recycling facilities for residents. However, the proposal is not a revenue generating exercise and is instead designed to change people's habits.