The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has hailed the decision by London Councils to withdraw plans for a ban on plastics carrier bags in London as “a victory for commonsense”.
Stephen Robertson, BRC Director General, said: “I’m glad London Councils has seen sense and abandoned these draconian and unnecessary plans. The costs of dealing with different rules for bags in different parts of the country would have been particularly burdensome. While it’s ridiculous to suggest carrier bags are a major cause of climate change, retailers are meeting their 2007 commitment to reduce the environmental impact of bags by 25 per cent. They’re on their way to achieving an ambitious new target to help customers halve bag use by next spring.
“Retailers have been so successful in this by taking customers with them in ways they find acceptable, by encouraging and rewarding – not clobbering them with onerous bans or new taxes during these tough times.”
