evidence: The debate over plastic bags is fiercer still. What should they be made of and – more likely to raise a few hackles – should we be charged for using them? In September 2013, the UK government announced a 5p charge for supermarket plastic bags from 2015. Similar charges are already in place in Northern Ireland and Wales, and Northern Ireland is planning to raise the price to 10p following an 80% reduction in bag use with the 5p charge. Scotland will start charging for bags from October 2014. The British Plastics Federation (BPF) is quite clear on this. ‘The UK plastics industry opposes the idea of a plastic bag tax on principle, because it would unfairly discriminate against plastic materials and is based on a misinterpretation of the relationship between materials, the environment and the causes of litter.’ [...] In 2002, Ireland became the first country to issue a plastic bag levy. Results from the country’s National Litter Pollution Monitoring System show that, in 2012, plastic bags constituted 0.3% of litter nationally compared to an estimated 5% prior to the introduction of the levy.