October 8: Charge producers for packaging to cut waste

THE charge of 5p for a carrier bag (The Yorkshire Post, October 5) may well reduce the amount used at the checkout but will it reduce the amount of plastic in landfill?

Many people I know re-use the bags as bin liners (as I do) but will now have to buy the bin liners instead.

What alternative is there? Line the kitchen waste bin with newspaper? Not use a liner and use (metered) water each day to keep the bin clean or take each bit of waste each time to the wheelie bin resulting in a stinking, fly-infested mess for the council refuse collection to empty each week?

Plastic is an issue but how much is used unnecessarily by manufacturers, food producers and supermarkets to wrap everything in this material?

Should the Government introduce a charge for this in order to prevent such an excess of usage?

My wheelie bin for plastic is filled almost full for each collection with packaging from purchases, whereas my plastic shopping bag itself was at least useful to cope with household waste.