Fascinating letter in yesterday’s times. Now I am not a fan of plastic bags, or even unnecessary plastic wrapping. I prefer things ‘in the raw’ rather than sanitised. I would not mourn the passing of the plastic bag. But the letter from the Government minister below is a crowning triumph of a confession – especially the line in bold.

Sir Your leader (Comment, March 8) urged the use of “solid science to underpin environmental protection”. I agree. We have never said that plastic bags were a leading cause of death in marine animals, though general plastic waste does make a contribution.
There are nonetheless serious reasons for our aim to end the practice of dispensing for free, single use bags. They are a significant cause of litter —— just look at any motorway verge or railway cutting. Most of the rest of the 13 billion bags used each year end up in landfill.
They are a potent symbol of our throwaway society and public opinion recognises this. Of course, these bags contribute only a small part of the waste that leads to climate-changing emissions, but we need to change the small things as well as the large and to work with the grain of public opinion. Behaviour change is vital to achieving a more sustainable lifestyle and government needs to take appropriate steps to encourage it.
Joan Ruddock Minister for Climate Change, Biodiversity and WasteDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

If these bags are so insignificant in overall terms, why was Alistair Darling’s proposal presented as if it were one of the defining environmental initiatives of our time? As Joan Ruddock almost admits, they focus on dictating the smaller aspects of our private life because they find that easier than engaging in a wider debate. She does at least admit that this Government’s overt policy to take ‘appropriate steps’ to ‘change our behaviour’.