Impose heavy fees on plastic bags in supermarkets

Lively interview on BBC Today Radio, Thursday, 2 August 2012:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9742000/9742259.stm

A fee of 5p introduced in Wales in October 2011 has resulted in a significant reduction (up to 90%) of plastic bags handed out by some supermarket chains. Scotland is currently holding a consultation on the issue  – why, when it looks like a no-brainer?

Maybe we should adopt Judith Holder's idea not just of charging a levy of £1 per bag, to make people remember to bring their own bags. She also feels that shoppers might be encouraged if supermarkets created a fast check-out lane for people with their own shopping bags.

We urgently need to reduce the amount of plastic stuff in our lives, much of which ends up in the oceans, where it has a devastating impact on the wildlife.
Here's a must-read article on this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096142/Sperm-whales-How-plastic-bags-poisoning-planets-greatest-predators.html

Let's get rid of plastic -- it's toxic in many ways

Dear all

The showing of a documentary at Benderloch's Victory Hall yesterday evening once again underscored our extreme dependency on oil for everything - from fuel to petrol to plastic to cosmetics and much, much more. We need to get rid of plastic. It is not only a blight on our landscapes and endangers sea-dwelling creatures, it has also slowly been poisoning the food chain and the human body.

Quite by chance I just found more evidence for the latter. Read the following article, which underscores how little we know about the effects of the oil-based synthetics we have been producing and using for the past approximately 60 years. It would appear that phthalates cause disruption of male reproductive health and affect male behaviour. We are constantly exposed to these chemicals through our use of plastic.

Let's get rid of plastic, or at least reduce our use.

Toxins in plastic 'feminise boys'

Chemicals in plastics alter the brains of baby boys making them "more feminine", say US researchers.

[Page last updated at 10:23 GMT, Monday, 16 November 2009]

Males exposed to high doses in the womb went on to be less likely to play with boys' toys like cars or to join in rough and tumble games, they found.

The University of Rochester team's latest work adds to concerns about the safety of phthalates, found in vinyl flooring and PVC shower curtains. The findings are reported in the International Journal of Andrology.

Plastic furniture

Phthalates have the ability to disrupt hormones, and have been banned in toys in the EU for some years. However, they are still widely used in many different household items, including plastic furniture and packaging.

There are many different types and some mimic the female hormone oestrogen.

The feminising capacity of phthalates makes them true 'gender benders' E. Salter-Green, director of CHEM Trust

The same researchers have already shown that this can mean boys are born with genital abnormalities.

Now they say certain phthalates also impact on the developing brain, by knocking out the action of the male hormone testosterone.

Dr Shanna Swan and her team tested urine samples from mothers over midway through pregnancy for traces of phthalates. The women, who gave birth to 74 boys and 71 girls, were followed up when their children were aged four to seven and asked about the toys the youngsters played with and the games they enjoyed.

Girls' play

They found that two phthalates DEHP and DBP can affect play behaviour. Boys exposed to high levels of these in the womb were less likely than other boys to play with cars, trains and guns or engage in "rougher" games like playfighting.

Elizabeth Salter-Green, director of the chemicals campaign group CHEM Trust, said the results were worrying.
"We now know that phthalates, to which we are all constantly exposed, are extremely worrying from a health perspective, leading to disruption of male reproduction health and, it appears, male behaviour too. This feminising capacity of phthalates makes them true 'gender benders'."

[Elizabeth Salter-Green] acknowledged that the boys who have been studied were still young, but she said reduced masculine play at this age might lead to other feminised developments in later life.

But Tim Edgar, of the European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates, said: "We need to get some scientific experts to look at this study in more detail before we can make a proper judgement."
He said there were many different phthalates in use and the study concerned two of the less commonly used types that were on the EU candidate list as potentially hazardous and needing authorisation for use.

DBP has been banned from use in cosmetics, such as nail varnish, since 2005 in the EU.

PHTHALATES
There are many different types.
The most commonly used are deemed entirely safe by regulators [MPJs emphasis].
[Potentially hazardous phthalates needing authorisation for use:]
DEHP - used to make PVC soft and pliable and used in products like flooring
DBP - used as a plasticiser in glues, dyes and textiles

For the original article, please go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8361863.stm

*****

My own two cents, to be taken with a pinch of salt:
The world might be a better place if males were a bit more feminised and less testosterone were coursing through their veins...