The UK Packaging and Films Association (PAFA, Nottingham; www.pafa.org.uk) has criticised the latest litter survey, carried out by the non-profit organisation Keep Britain Tidy (www.keepbritaintidy.org), as “sensationalist and misleading”. The poll “How clean is England” found “a slight rise in the presence of littered plastic carrier bags”, which the association says will be countered by the introduction of the 5p fee for single-use plastic bags, to take effect in October 2015 (for most recent coverage, see Plasteurope.com of 23.10.2014).

PAFA chief executive Barry Turner said the survey fails to point out that the percentage of litter represented by supermarket carrier bags is just 0.2% of all littered items, adding that “the popular media continues to conveniently ignore the 40% reduction in bag consumption we achieved by voluntary means and forgets the reality that the lightweight plastic carrier bag uses the least resources for the highest functionality and re-use – compared with all the alternatives.”

The association also pointed out that a bag fee will not stop people from littering, saying “Littering is a serious anti-social behaviour that needs to be confronted as such,” instead of haranguing a product that is both reusable and recyclable.