A complete ban on plastic bags is the only way to really help the environment

A doubling of the charge to buy a bag in shops is all well and good, but we need proper weapons to fight this environmental war, writes Janet Street-Porter

Plastic bag use has reduced, but it isn’t enough (Getty)

Doubling the price of a single-use plastic bag to 10p from 21 May and extending the initiative from major supermarkets to small corner shops is a threadbare gesture that won’t do much to clean up our beaches or stop the plague of litter that defaces the UK.

If the government was serious about flaunting its environmental credentials it would have banned these bags altogether. Instead, it prevaricates.

Publication of a "green list" might offer us the chance to go abroad this summer without the need to quarantine on return, but it won’t alter the reality – most Brits will spend their holidays closer to home. UK holiday destinations, from beaches to national parks and beauty spots are expecting huge crowds, which means only one thing. Overflowing litter bins and a carpet of filth someone else must clear up. If big music events are allowed to resume in August, the same result will ensue.