Petition · past parliament
All supermarkets in the UK to provide paper bags instead of plastic.
Rejected
10 signatures
What the petition asks
It takes 500+ years for a plastic bag to degrade in a landfill, ultimately becoming micro-plastics that absorb toxins and continue to pollute the environment. Although single-use bags have reduced, supermarkets are still using plastic bags. Paper is fully recyclable and takes 1 month to decompose.
At least 267 different species have been affected by plastic pollution in our Oceans, as well as a staggering 100,000 marine animals being killed by plastic bags annually.
Birds often mistake broken up plastic bags for food, filling their stomachs with toxic chemicals.
Despite the reduction in single-use plastic bags, large supermarkets and retail outlets still provide plastic bags. There is not a necessity for any plastic and can easily be swapped to a sustainable resource such as paper.
Birds often mistake broken up plastic bags for food, filling their stomachs with toxic chemicals.
Despite the reduction in single-use plastic bags, large supermarkets and retail outlets still provide plastic bags. There is not a necessity for any plastic and can easily be swapped to a sustainable resource such as paper.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 10 Apr 2019 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 18 Apr 2019 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
10
Status
Rejected
Rejected
18 Apr 2019
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.