Plastics company challenges London "Bag Bill"
February 4, 2008
A British plastics company has mounted an official challenge to the London Local Authorities (Shopping Bag) Bill, which is intended to ban the distribution of free throwaway plastic shopping bags in London, because there is no exemption for degradable plastic.
London Councils, which represents London’s 32 boroughs, instigated the Bill and ran a public consultation on the subject of throwaway shopping bags from 14 September to 26 October 2007, culminating in the Bill being deposited in Parliament on 27 November 2007.
However, Symphony Environmental Ltd, a specialist in oxo-biodegradable plastics, says it can make plastic bags degrade completely from as little as six months onwards.
The company therefore argues that degradable plastic bags should be added to the proposed list of exemptions from the ban, and that the use of oxo-biodegradable plastics could dramatically cut the amount of long-term plastic waste.
The consultation document put out by London Councils failed to mention degradable bags of any kind, according to a source at Symphony.
On 30 January 2008, the company presented an official petition against the proposals in the London Local Authorities (Shopping Bags) Bill.
Organisations using the company's oxo-biotechnology worldwide for bags or packaging include the Co-op, Tesco, Walmart, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, BUPA, the World Wildlife Fund, the Science Museum and The Soil Association.
After submitting the petition, Michael Stephen, Chairman of Symphony Environmental, said, "In our view, government and local authorities should make virtually all plastic packaging compulsorily oxo-biodegradable, as they are now doing in Brazil and Argentina."
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