The British say no to plastic bags

The campaign to limit the use of plastic to protect the environment initiated by UK retailers in 2007 has yielded quite satisfactory results. The amount of plastic used in supermarkets across the UK has fallen by almost half.

According to the British Retailers Association (BRC), only about 450 million plastic bags were used in May 2009, down 48% from 870 million bags in May 2006. Scotland has the highest decline (49.4%), leading other regions like Wales and Northern Ireland. While not achieving the 50% goal of this successful campaign, it is also considered ' encouraging '.

(Photo: TheSun)

'This is a spectacular achievement, especially during 2006-2008 when sales of supermarkets increased by 5%,' said BRC director Stephen Robertson. The campaign was attended by seven British retail corporations such as Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Somerfield .

Plastic bags have long been considered as enemies of the environment with decomposition time up to hundreds of years. In nature, they are also the cause of the deaths of animals by mistaking for food.