Don’t ban the plastic bag, but make it degradable!

Governments are under increasing pressure to take action against plastic carrier bags and these have been taxed in some countries. This provides only a benefit to supermarkets who would be able to charge for plastic bags and remove one of their overhead costs. If you want to show your support for making plastic bags degradable, sign our petition.

Why keep plastic bags

If a tax or ban were to begin, consumers would be deprived of what is a very effective low cost and low-impact means of carrying their shopping. Carrier bags are also used for a whole series of other things: from holding garbage to holding loose objects, keeping objects clean and water-proof, holding dirty clothes, and the list continues. Used carrier bags would just be replaced with garbage sacks which are also made from plastic.

The environment

Part of the concern over plastic bags is due to the fact that plastic can lie or float around for very many years. They are also a highly visible form of litter and can spoil areas of natural beauty.

Symphony has been helping to make carrier bags bio-degradable with its d2w technology for many years and is now the market leader. d2w turns plastic into a material with a completely different molecular structure. At that stage it is no longer a plastic and can be safely bioassimilated in the open environment in the same way as a leaf.

The alternatives

For a while now, people have been using alternatives to plastic bags such as bags made from paper, cotton, jute, etc. However these require a vast amount of energy to be produced (including higher transport costs, Usage of fuel, and emissions of CO2), are much heavier and do not offer the same hygienic standards that new plastic bags do. A Life Cycle Assessment published this year by the Environment Agency has shown that plastic carrier-bags are the most environmentally sustainable option for carrying goods and protecting them from contamination.

Help make plastic bags biodegradable

Symphony has launched a campaign to inform consumers, authorities and local citizens concerning plastic bags and the environment. The aim is to encourage local authorities and the Government to adopt degradable plastic bags as a solution to the problem caused by normal plastic.

You can help us:

-SIGN OUR PETITION: to protect our plastic bags and make sure they are made degradable! To take part, please go to the Hertsmere website.

-FILL-IN OUR QUESTIONNAIRE: fill this in and help us to collect information on what the general public feels about plastic bags. To help Symphony’s research, please fill in the questionnaire. This will only take 2 minutes of your time, and it would mean a lot to us.

-JOIN US on Twitter and Facebook page. Spread the news among your friends and family, and let’s give degradable plastic the place it deserves!  

-We will be placing a MOBILE UNIT - an information point in our local areas (shopping centres, market areas) where we will offer the facts on plastic, collect signatures and talk to you about degradable plastics.

To show your support to Symphony, a UK Company exporting British d2w technology to the world, please visit us at the GreenHertsAwards in Knebworth on October 25th.