5p levy on plastic bags starts in England

Shops in England are now charging 5p for a plastic bag. The two weathermen at the Met Office discussed it.

Weatherman 1 : I see shops are asking 5p for a bag.

Weatherman 2 : Yes, it caught me out yesterday, I strolled in to buy a few items and was charged £2.04. So instead of having a penny in my pocket I had 96p in loose change, it spoils the contours of your clothes.

WM1 : There’s good reasons behind it. Plastic bags aren’t degradable.

WM2 : It means I have to think ahead before I go shopping.

WM1 : You already do  - if you walk into a shop there’s a reason for it; you know what you are there to buy.  Add the bag to the shopping list.  

WM2 : What if I am just browsing with no clear intent to purchase anything?

WM1 : You have to carry the plastic bag with you, just in case.

WM2 : So now my pockets are being deformed by either 94p or a plastic bag. Isn’t life already full of “just in case” items?

WM1 : Like what?

WM2 : There’s a spare tyre in my car, an umbrella in case it rains, some pills in case I get a headache, a tissue in case I sneeze. We are always preparing for the unexpected.... it’s endless.

WM1 : If you watch our forecast, you could maybe leave the umbrella at home. And I don’t think buying a shirt from a clothes shop is unexpected, if you already walked in there. It has been effective elsewhere. In Wales, there was a 71% reduction in plastic bag consumption.

WM2 : What will they do with 5p anyway?

WM1 : Some shops give it to environmental charities. Waitrose gave it to Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

WM2 : So you take your dog to a concert, and ask Fido at the end if he enjoyed it and he wags his tail at Mozart – but you heard nothing. I suppose you can use a plastic bag to put his mess in.

WM1 : It’s a positive development, we just need to change our habits.

WM2 : I saw one woman walking out with groceries balanced in her arms – she wasn’t going to pay the 5p.

WM1 : And when she drops her shopping because she didn’t have enough hands to open her car boot, she will feel silly. Just because we have been doing something for ages, doesn’t make it right. In Singapore, the fines for littering are high and it’s one of the cleanest countries on the planet.

WM2 : So laws provide an inertia for a change of behaviour? It’s a pity there aren’t more then. We could lower the age of criminal responsibility and prosecute children for whinging. Mine would be doing a long stretch by now...

WM1 : We can alter behaviour with a law. Seat belts made the roads safer.

WM2 : What’s the difference between altering  and change?  And what about manipulation?

WM1 : No idea. It’s only 5p.

WM2 : Maybe a manipulation is something we don’t like, altering sounds less drastic, and a change we approve of?

WM1 : Whatever you call it, you’ll get used to it, we always do.