I thoroughly agree with Victoria Temple's comments on plastic bags (Citizen 10/01/04). Plastic bags have somehow become a part of almost every shopping transaction, yet they look terrible, cost both customers and shops lots of money, and waste environmental resources. Shoppers do need to think twice before accepting bags, but the government can also play a role. The Irish Government has reduced plastic bag consumption by 95% by charging a 15 cent tax (about 10 pence) on each bag. We could easily introduce such a scheme here. Plastic bags are a recent phenomenon, and are absolutely wasteful. Its high time we started addressing the issue.

Ivi Szaboova-Baxendale, Gloucestershire Green Party.