PLASTIC BAGS

That this House welcomes the increased attention in the press to the pollution caused by plastic bags; notes official figures which show that one in 10 public spaces is littered with plastic bags; further notes that single-use plastic bags are only used for an average of 20 minutes but take 1,000 years to rot away; congratulates high street chains Marks & Spencer and Debenhams on their recent decision to impose a five pence charge on their single-use plastic bags; regrets that the Big Four major supermarket retailers, Tesco, Morrisons, Asda and Sainsbury's, continue to give away free plastic bags; and calls on the Big Four and other major retailers to follow the example set by Marks & Spencer and Debenhams by introducing a five pence charge on single-use plastic bags to encourage a switch to greener alternatives such as cotton, hemp and jute carriers or re-usable `bags for life'.