Yesterday’s Independent on Sunday has revealed that an unpublished Environment Agency report shows that high density polythene (HDPE) bags used by shoppers are more environmentally friendly than alternatives.

The paper, which was commissioned in 2005 and scheduled for publication in 2007, shows that HDPE bags are nearly 200 times less damaging to the climate than cotton hold-alls, and have less than one third of the CO2 emissions than paper bags.

The aim of the report was to identify which of seven types of bag have the lowest environmental impact across several criteria, including extraction of raw materials, production, transportation and disposal.

It found that an HDPE plastic bag would have a baseline global warming potential of 1.57 kg Co2 equivalent, falling to 1.4 kg Co2e if re-used once, the same as a paper bag used four times (1.38 kg Co2e). In contrast, A cotton bag would have to be re-used 171 times to emit a similar level, 1.57 kg Co2e.

The report concluded:

“The HDPE bag had the lowest environmental impacts of the single use options in nine of the 10 impact categories. The bag performed well because it was the lightest single use bag considered.”

Barry Turner, chief executive of the Packaging and Films Association, said:

“This [report] has dragged on and on. It was a report that could have been done relatively quickly, probably within 12 months but it has gone on for years.

“If these are the conclusions that have arrived at it wouldn’t really surprise me. It was buried because it didn’t give the right answers. It doesn’t support the political thrust at the moment.”

For more information on the findings of the Environment Agency’s report, please visit the following publications:

- The Independent on Sunday (Sunday 20 February 2011)
- The Daily Telegraph (Monday 21 February 2011)
- The Daily Mail (Monday 21 February 2011)