Stewart Dickson
East Antrim · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“Thank you, Minister, for your answer. Minister, you will have noted that the Government recently announced a VAT cut for some family expenses for a range of activities over the summer. That is perhaps a change.”
“Many do not know how to apply; others do not even realise that the opportunities exist. If the process itself is a barrier to participation, it is really not open to all.”
“I was born in 1950 in Thorndale House, which was one of the homes that is named in the legislation. I was born to married parents, and Thorndale House was a maternity home. It was where you went to have your baby in 1950 on the Antrim Road. My mum and dad went there, I was born and, a few days later, I left with loving parents.”
“I agree with Mr Brett: amendment No 6 is important because it will deal with persons who refuse to provide information or evidence to the inquiry. Amendment No 8 to clause 20 is a tidying-up amendment that will allow the Committee to make interim reports, which will be of benefit to the inquiry process.”
“That is why I want the inquiry to succeed and why it is vital that it succeeds. That is why it is important for us to see that cruelty in the full glare of a public inquiry. That is why it is important that the scheme goes through without further delay. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I place on record my thanks to the Committee Chair.”
“The Assembly faces stark choices, and agreeing the draft Budget as it stands is not a silver bullet, nor is it sustainable for us to continue in the absence of a Budget. It is vital, therefore, that we break the cycle of crisis and collapse that has been destroying our public finances.”
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“Thankfully, employment law is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, unlike in Scotland and Wales, for example, so we have that freedom. With that freedom comes responsibility, however. <BR /> <BR />Although I welcome the Bill, it is being moved late in the mandate and — regrettably, from Mr Carroll's perspective — it is not going to make it onto the legislative book. Moreover, it does not leave a legacy or set the right tone for what will happen in the future. I have heard the Minister say to the Committee and in the House that there is an intention to take forward a more broadly encompassing reform of employment law in Northern Ireland in the next mandate. I hope that that will happen.”
“<BR /> <BR />I also appreciate that, back in the 1970s, as Mr Weir said, lots of changes were taking place to trade union regulations and laws. Some were of necessity, because of the way in which industrial relations had been deteriorating at that time in the United Kingdom, and many, depending on the flavour of the Government of the day, may well have gone too far, and, indeed, many did go too far. Shamefully, many of the changes to regulations were brought into Northern Ireland by direct rule Ministers. Matthew O'Toole made a political point about the Ulster Workers' Council strike. If we had not had direct rule, perhaps we would have had the ability to make some of the changes ourselves. <BR /> <BR />When Northern Ireland moved to a situation in which we had our own Ministers, we were in a position to take control of employment law.”
“I can tell you, Mr Speaker and Mr Carroll, that it was by no means easy to fulfil the role of chair of a trade union branch in an organisation in which the entire ethos was to provide support and conciliation to trade unions and employers in times of difficulty and dispute. The reality was that we had our own disputes, and we had strikes. We had strikes against our own management. In fact, I proudly say to this day that we held the longest-running industrial dispute in Northern Ireland. It was over recognition. Nevertheless, that did not deter me or the management of the Labour Relations Agency from the roles that we had to provide conciliation and support to trade unions and businesses across Northern Ireland.”
“I thank Mr Carroll for bringing the Bill to the House. I have been a trade union member for my entire working life. I started out in 1976 as a member of the Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs (ASTMS), and I organised the first trade union branch in what was then the Ulster Polytechnic, now the Jordanstown campus of Ulster University. That gave me a taste for my trade union career. Subsequently, I moved to work for the Labour Relations Agency, an agency that recruited staff from a worker and an employer background. I was pleased to join from the worker background. That did not diminish my role as a trade union activist, because, there, I immediately joined branch 28 of NIPSA and, in fact, was branch chair for many, many years in the organisation.”
“It requests the extension to ensure that it can complete its consultation and the Bill report highlighting the issues that require to be considered in more detail by any successor Committee. <BR /> <BR />On behalf of the Economy Committee, I ask that the Assembly support the motion to extend the Committee Stage of the Bill to 25 March 2022.”
“In doing so, the Committee fully acknowledged the limited time frame for consultation on the Bill before the end of the mandate and recognised that the evidence provided would be on the high-level principles of the Bill. The Committee agreed to hear oral evidence from a limited number of stakeholders, given the time constraints, and acknowledges that, while the evidence to date indicates general support for the Bill, there are detailed and complex issues that the Committee cannot explore in any detail within the time frame. The Committee also sought legal advice on a specific issue to do with the types of contracts that would be covered by the Bill. <BR /> <BR />The Committee completed taking oral evidence and will close its survey at the end of this week.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Committee acknowledges the commitment in the New Decade, New Approach agreement to ban zero-hours contracts, and that aim has been widely supported. The Committee is aware that a significant number of workers in Northern Ireland are on zero-hours contracts, which leaves them in a vulnerable position with no guaranteed hours or stable income, and they are often on lower rates of pay. The Committee therefore recognises that legislation to address the issue is long overdue. <BR /> <BR />The Committee received a pre-introductory briefing from the Bill sponsor at its meeting on 8 December, when she outlined the detailed policy proposals in the Bill. The Committee agreed to publish a call for evidence and a survey and to write to key stakeholders inviting written submissions on the Bill.”
“I am representing the Economy Committee in the debate due to the ill health of the Chair and the Deputy Chair having other duties this afternoon. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Economy Committee to seek an extension to the Committee Stage of the Employment (Zero Hours Workers and Banded Weekly Working Hours) Bill. The Bill was referred to the Committee for the Economy on 1 February 2022 for Committee Stage. The Bill should, under Standing Order 33(2), complete its Committee Stage by 14 March. The main objective of the Bill is to end the use of zero-hours contracts in the labour market and to replace them with banded-hours contracts. It also seeks to make exclusivity terms unenforceable.”
“Thank you very much, Minister, for a somewhat disappointing answer. Do you agree that sanitary and phytosanitary checks at points of entry are vital to upholding our animal welfare and good food standards? How will we deal with standards under the UK's free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, which definitely threaten our food standards and regulations?”
“Minister, there is not much confidence now between the DUP and the Conservative Party. You said in a previous answer in the House today that you were confident about the whole process of Project Stratum, yet the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) issued a report that issued criticism, particularly around the procurement aspect of Project Stratum. Can you tell the House what lessons you and your Department have learned from the criticism that you received from the Northern Ireland Audit Office?”
“I declare an interest in that I received and spent the card, and it worked perfectly for me. Unfortunately, it did not work for others. I deliberately chose a high street trader who added 10% to the value of the card. The 10% was not to give to me; it was to give to charity. There is a lot of disappointment at the lack of a mechanism to do that. <BR /> <BR />Given the distress caused to what, I accept, was a small number of people who could not access their cards, will you assure us that the system is not closed and that there will be an opportunity for people who believe that they should have received their card or that it should have worked to have their queries examined in detail to ensure that, if they are entitled to the money, they will get it?”
“We are here to stand up for democracy, for what is right, for elected representatives and for democracy in Ukraine. <BR /> <BR />Ukraine is a democratic state. We are politicians in a democratic state, and we have a duty and responsibility to support Ukraine in every way that we can, including by humanitarian aid, pleading with our Government to do what is right and standing in the Chamber and appealing for peace in Ukraine.”
“When Putin invaded Crimea, he got away with it unscathed; when he carried out the Salisbury poisonings, it was unremarkable; now, his most recent escalation is going to set and trigger a prolonged conflict. <BR /> <BR />I represent the Assembly at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities at the Council of Europe (CLRAE). I have 12 colleagues there who are mayors. One whom I spoke to this morning, Hanna Zamazeeva, is the leader of the Donetsk oblast. That means that she is president of an assembly that represents more people than we do in the Northern Ireland Assembly. When she was elected, she did not believe that she was going to be given a machine gun to defend the people in her village. Twelve hours ago, Russian troops and their tanks rolled into her village and crushed towns and murdered people. That is why we are here today.”
“I rise to speak on the tragic situation in Ukraine. On 16 February, with the prolonged tension with Ukraine continuing, the Russian envoy to the European Union declared that wars "rarely start on a Wednesday". In the early hours of Thursday morning, Putin declared war on Ukraine. In those few moments, explosions were heard throughout the country, and, by afternoon, 160 Ukrainians were injured and 60 were dead. Those were the first and opening moments of Putin's war. <BR /> <BR />As many of us sit here in the island of Ireland on the edge of Europe, we can only wonder and express our concern about what is going on in a major European country and city. It cannot be overstated that Ukraine is a European nation of 44 million people. Men, women and children are now targets of a full-scale war of aggression.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your statement. I note that the UK Minister who jointly chaired the meeting is responsible for clean growth; that is in the title of his role. Was there any discussion, therefore, Minister, about deterring the development of blue hydrogen or fossil fuel-derived hydrogen? There is serious concern, presumably across all the nations, that that is not a clean fuel.”
“Unfortunately, that endless game of whack-a-mole is destined to continue until at least one party, if not both major parties, returns to the Chamber to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland, rather than trying to deliver for themselves. I encourage the party opposite to come back to the table to work collaboratively with the four other Executive parties to deliver a better future for Northern Ireland through an effective and efficient Budget.”
“However, I was surprised to see in the spring Estimates a significant drop in provision for the Utility Regulator; although I understand that a lot of its income comes from licensing arrangements. <BR /> <BR />It is illuminating to scrutinise the specifics for the spring Supplementary Estimates. When looking at the detail, what becomes clear is just how desperately we need a three-year Budget in order to properly forecast and plan for the future. Without the ability to look ahead for the long-term resourcing of Departments and arm's-length bodies, we are stuck in a constant cycle of sporadically firefighting and plugging gaps.”
“We know all too well that the funding will run out at the end of March, with the result of service provision being hamstrung, job losses among providers and a great deal of uncertainty. Due to the severity of the risk, the Finance Minister has managed to obtain a workaround, but it will be interesting to see how it can actually be achieved. <BR /> <BR />It is news to no one that we are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, with too many vulnerable citizens having to choose between heating and eating. To remove programmes that are aimed at assisting individuals into work is unforgivable. I appreciate that spiralling utilities costs are a global issue, exacerbated by the sad events that are unfolding in Ukraine.”
“<BR /> <BR />Apart from Invest NI and, by extension, the businesses that will suffer, the Economy Minister has taken aim at those groups that work to deliver at a basic level on the ground. Last week, he rejected proposals that would have allowed him to approve the funding of dozens of groups in the absence of the draft Budget for next year. I await what the Finance Minister has to say about the potential workaround that he has offered to the Economy Minister, but there does not seem to be any evidence that the Economy Minister has taken any interest in or note of that. <BR /> <BR />There are some 67 community groups, working with around 17,000 of some of the most vulnerable people in Northern Ireland, that have traditionally been reliant on EU structural funds.”
“Thanks to the DUP-backed Brexit, that funding will no longer be available, and, despite any hollow promises to the contrary, will not be replaced by UK Government funding. It is therefore important that the Budget, which, regrettably, at best is on hold, and, at worst, will fall down around our ears, is able to address those core issues. For example, core funding of some £100 million, which would have come from the EU and is no longer available to us, requires double the approximately £45 million cash increase that the Department will get from Stormont funds. Those figures alone paint a pretty bleak picture, but that is worsened when we consider that the same officials warned us that our skills and innovation programme would bear the brunt of the cost-cutting measures.”
“Without clarification of the Budget, Invest Northern Ireland is unable to issue any new financial offers, with knock-on effects for trade and FDI targets, in-year budget spend and company engagement. That comes at a time when we are trying desperately to build back the economy after a two-year pandemic and grappling with cost-of-living increases, and the Executive are not functioning properly because of obstinacy and grandstanding by one particular party. <BR /> <BR />What I find particularly jarring about that situation is that Invest Northern Ireland has being warning the Department since 2020 that it faces colossal funding problems due to the loss of EU grants. A substantial part of its budget was from the European regional development fund.”
“I will address two specific areas of concern in my capacity as Alliance spokesperson for the economy. The first is the financial arrangements around Invest Northern Ireland and its inability to provide financial support to potential investors due to the Budget uncertainty, and the second is the shortfall in funding for community projects in Northern Ireland due to the Brexit chaos, which was largely created by the party opposite and the withdrawal from the European Union. <BR /> <BR />The Chamber will be well aware that, recently, in response to the current Budget position, the Department for the Economy told Invest Northern Ireland to pause any activity that would incur new financial commitments beyond March 2022.”
“I appreciate your answer, Minister. Recently, the United Kingdom Government announced the airport and ground operations support scheme to support the regeneration of airports following the COVID pandemic. What share will Northern Ireland get of that funding? How do you plan to distribute it to the airports?”
“The RHI report makes recommendations about ministerial directions and record-keeping. You are required to take note of those ministerial directions. Can you tell the House what information you have received to date from the Agriculture Minister concerning his directions given on the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks at our ports?”
“Minister, may I express my dismay at your recent decision to abandon all-age apprenticeships, given how important they are in areas like mid-Ulster and, indeed, across Northern Ireland in delivering the genuine skills that we need for the new and growing industries that require and are calling out for apprenticeships, regardless of the age of those who want to do that work?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement and welcome the review of Invest Northern Ireland. Minister, you will undoubtedly agree that Northern Ireland is at its best in delivering its economic give across the world, particularly because we have, as we should, a social partnership model of delivering jobs and business in Northern Ireland. It is therefore disappointing, Minister, that you have failed to appoint a trade union representative, as a representative of the social partnership sector, to the review. While I welcome the appointments of Dame Rotha Johnston and Maureen O’Reilly, there is one person and one sector missing.”
“The Minister's statement is very disappointing, particularly when we hear people asking questions about football stadiums and the like. Surely the priority has to be issues like cancer services and how our health service is delivered. Those have to be the number one priority in the Chamber. <BR /> <BR />Minister, I want to ask you about the economy issues that you raised in your statement. You clearly highlighted a number of areas in which the Minister for the Economy has failures to deal with in respect of his budget. It is ironic that it is a DUP Minister who will suffer some of the more difficult issues from the Budget, particularly in relation to the failure of the United Kingdom's Share Prosperity Fund and how we will work around that to ensure that there will be sufficient funds to replace the European social fund.”
“For absolute clarity, is the Minister making it clear this evening that the reality is that the day is up for licences that are currently being sought?”
“I appreciate the legal requirements that are on a Minister and a Department in dealing with licensing applications when they come in. The reality is that you are suggesting that you are willing to move Northern Ireland to the point where there would be a moratorium, which would still allow licensing applications to come along, because those people may think that they can still persuade change, but, ultimately, you indicated that you are willing to legislate to end all exploration. In those circumstances, do you not agree that we need to get to that point quickly in order to ensure that we send out a clear signal that there is no longer any point in making a licensing application in Northern Ireland?”
“I very much appreciate the Member giving way and the comment that he made about there being no appetite or intention to see fracking anywhere across the United Kingdom. Does he agree that it is vital that, in considering the Bill, we define fracking? Will he comment on the very narrow description of fracking in the Bill?”
“Tonight, many across Northern Ireland are concerned and worried about their health, the environment and how we are ever to tackle climate change in this community. <BR /> <BR />Failing to ban not only fracking but a wide range of exploration methods does not cut it, as far as the Alliance Party is concerned. We need to send a very clear message from the Chamber to the industry, fossil fuel supporters and those still investing in that type of technology: we do not want you, we do not need you, and your time is up.”
“Regardless of that criticism, it is important that we hear from the Bill sponsor why it is so narrow in its scope and why it seems to fall far short of achieving very much at all, given its few short lines. <BR /> <BR />Failing to ban fracking and petroleum licences in this mandate will have a dire consequence for our country's future. The Minister has failed to make a clear recommendation based on the Hatch report. Despite all the national agreements and the fair belief that we all have that it would be very difficult to see fracking or petroleum exploration, clearly, we cannot know that, once and for all, until the Minister and others — ultimately, the House — legislate to say that no more fossil fuels will be extracted from the ground or from under the ground in Northern Ireland.”
“I am sure that the Bill sponsor will want to explain to the House how this legislation fits in with the overall aims of the strategy, which has its good points but has many areas of grave concern for the Alliance Party, not least its references to and praise for the potential to deliver blue hydrogen — a fossil fuel if ever there was one. <BR /> <BR />Ultimately, it is unfortunate that the legislation has come late to the Assembly. With others, I have criticised the Bill sponsor for the narrowness of the Bill. We would like an explanation as to why she brought it at this stage, having had so much time, as did her predecessor, to flesh out a Bill in this particularly strong area.”
“At a cost of some £70,000, the Minister sought and procured a report on the whole issue of fossil fuel exploration. I guess that the excuse for not bringing it forward will be that there is no Executive. I implore the Minister to bring that report forward. As others have said, the whole issue of how we tackle climate change is important to many citizens across Northern Ireland. Intrinsically linked to that is fossil fuel exploration and, not least of all, fracking, wherever that may be and, indeed, whatever the scope of the Bill may allow us to do. <BR /> <BR />The energy strategy has also been mentioned.”
“I have direct experience of that in my constituency of East Antrim — indeed, it is also the Minister's constituency — where we saw the ultimate failure, thank goodness, of an ill-thought-out oil exploration escapade at North Woodburn reservoir. That was a very regrettable situation. Had that escapade been successful, if that is the right word to use, it had the potential to damage the water supply for the whole city of Belfast and beyond. Had it come to fruition, there was the potential for devastating impacts.”
“I understand that part of the argument for taking the Bill forward, apart from, obviously, the wider matter of environmental protection for the whole of Northern Ireland, is the Member's specific interest in her constituency. The type of fracking that she proposes to ban in the legislation, however, probably does not match much of the geology of her constituency, which has been calling out because the area has been earmarked for exploration. I wonder exactly what is going on, and I hope that the Bill sponsor will explain some of the narrow language in her Bill that seems to fail to hit the mark on its whole purpose of dealing not only with fracking but with the wider issue of fossil fuel exploration.”
“<BR /> <BR />Here, however, we have a Bill that is narrow in definition and does not, for the Alliance Party, meet wider needs or the objective of demonstrating that there will be no further fossil fuel exploration in Northern Ireland. I do not want to delay the Assembly for long, but perhaps those are some of the areas that would be explored at Committee Stage. Indeed, if the Bill comes back in the next mandate, they will have to be further explored. <BR /> <BR />For example, it is a short Bill, and it only makes reference to:”
“I thank the Bill sponsor for bringing the Bill to us this evening. It is one that the Alliance Party will support at this stage, but it raises a wide range of questions, and I have to express disappointment in the scope of the Bill. As others said, surely the objective of the Assembly, or at least that of the vast majority of those in the Assembly, is to see a permanent end to all fossil fuel exploration in Northern Ireland, both onshore and offshore. I appreciate that there are difficulties with offshore, but, given that the United Kingdom is inexorably moving towards that goal, offshore exploration is unlikely to proceed.”
“I also thank departmental officials and others across the health and social care world for the work that they have done behind the scenes to get the legislation on to the statute books. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I proudly hold an NHS donor card. It is important that everybody who wants to register as a donor prior to the Bill's passing goes out there now, fills out the form and lets their family know that they want to be a donor.”
“<BR /> <BR />Others have mentioned some of those who have campaigned for the legislation, and, going back some years, I have been very grateful for the direct discussions with our former colleague Jo-Anne Dobson. I am thankful for Dáithí's family, who have done so much to emphasise the urgency of the legislation. It is also important that organisations like kidney charities, the British Heart Foundation (BHF), Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke and many others play a public role in campaigning diligently for the legislation. Many others have quietly pushed for the legislation, and their input has been valued as well. Obviously, many of them will be watching the debate today. Though it has taken a long time, I hope that this day brings relief and hope for some.”
“I seek assurance from the Minister at the end of the debate that we have a strong publicity package ready to go immediately after Royal Assent is granted. It has been recognised that publicity goes beyond just adverts. The experience from countries, such as Spain, for example, shows that, beyond doubt, investment in education and organisations will be required in order to truly deliver an increase in organ donations. Deemed consent will need to be clear. Little difference will be made without significant effort in education and awareness raising. I note again that awareness raising should also cover the potential for anyone of any age, even if they are not covered by the Bill, to opt in. We may need to consider how to make that easier.”
“That is the key here. Campaigners have noted that the public are ready and the specialists are ready, and we certainly know that the service is ready. <BR /> <BR />The Bill has a set of exemptions, which others have referred to, that cover any concerns that have been raised over the years. It bears repeating that it applies only to deceased adults who were resident full-time in Northern Ireland at the time of death. It also makes for other allowances. <BR /> <BR />Eleven people died last year while on the waiting list for an organ transplant here in Northern Ireland, yet just one donation can help up to nine people. Therefore, in many ways, the most important aspect of the legislation is the element on awareness raising, which is not in the equivalent legislation for England.”
“No one, however, is claiming that it will, of itself, by any means complete it. In evidence to the Committee, the Bill was summarised as part of a journey to normalising organ donation.”
“That is the success of the ability to provide a transplant. <BR /> <BR />My colleague Paula Bradshaw, who is not here today, would have spoken on the Bill. Unfortunately, Paula is not well today. I am delighted to be able to speak on it. The ability to register as an organ donor, which will take only a few moments, and share that decision with families is important. Parents may also wish to consider that their children, although unaffected by the Bill as it stands, can opt in to be donors. <BR /> <BR />With regard to the specificity of the legislation, the Bill is just one step of a journey by which I hope that Northern Ireland will come to reach the international target of 80% of transplants coming from deceased donors. It is evident from elsewhere that deemed consent will start that journey.”
“First, I want to say how delighted I am that the Health Minister has christened the Bill Dáithí's law. That is a massive tribute to the family and their campaign, and I proudly wear the campaign pin today. I also want to give thanks to Jo-Anne Dobson, former MLA and colleague here in the Assembly. She was and remains a champion of organ donation. She spoke to me on many occasions about her family circumstances and her son. At the same time, I had a friend who was going through a kidney transplant. He had had a transplant, he then had cancer and had to recover from that, but the cancer treatment destroyed his transplanted kidney. Subsequently, five years later, which was the time that he to wait, he was able to have a second kidney transplant. Today, he leads a normal, full and healthy life.”
“Raising the plastic bag levy is welcome and has a role to play. However, it only scratches the surface compared with what is needed. Consumers want action. "Waste" is the operative word: we must not waste any more time, Minister. Thank you for bringing in this welcome legislation.”
“<BR /> <BR />My party, the Alliance Party, has published 'A Green New Deal', which is a very clear and very positive image that sets out a vision for a sustainable future and a vision of a single-focus management system that will reward people for recycling and end the overuse of waste that ends up as landfill. We want to strengthen our domestic and commercial incentives to recycle, and we want implement deposit return schemes, one of which has happened in my constituency in Whitehead: a very positive scheme engaged the community, allowed people to recycle and incentivised them to do so. <BR /> <BR />Reducing plastic waste will undoubtedly be a mammoth task, and I do not underestimate the task that the Minister and his Department have in playing their part.”
“The United Nations predicted that, by 2050, there will be more plastic in the sea than fish. Let that sink in. How terrifying a prospect is that? <BR /> <BR />The Chamber is leading the way today, and initiatives like the carrier bag tax have a positive impact on behaviour, but much more needs to be done. Along with promoting good behaviour, people need fiscal drivers to make those changes. We often speak about recycling and reusing, but the reality is that we need to be reducing and, where possible, reducing to zero use. We need to be inventing, and we need to be inventive. We need to be using new materials — natural materials — that are truly biodegradable in the best sense of the word in that they will contribute to our biodiversity, and we need to legislate for a just transition to greener alternatives.”
“<BR /> <BR />There are undoubtedly many things that we can do personally, and we all try to make our own efforts, but, regardless of whether we recycle more, use more items for life or make healthier and more environmental choices, we all have a role to play in ensuring that plastic does not end up in our natural environment because that can cause risks to animals, such as cows or others in fields, and to our wildlife in general and can destroy and disrupt our watercourses. One of the most horrific things is the amount of microplastics that is getting into our water supply, many of which come from the plastic bags that we are trying to legislate on today and take many, many, many years to degrade. They do not actually degrade; they end up in our watercourses as microplastics.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is, of course, great to see that overall reduction in plastic bag usage. However, like other Members, I am concerned about the soaring sales of so-called bags for life, which have become the new go-to single-use bag. I hope that the levy will go some way in ultimately addressing that as another root cause of the crisis — the myth of the throwaway plastic bag. <BR /> <BR />Resources are extracted, manufactured and transported to be used only once, yet, according to the British Antarctic Survey, plastic bags float from the Arctic Circle to the Falkland Islands in what are called plastic islands. The largest of those is the Great Pacific garbage patch, which is the size of the state of Texas and is made up of degraded single-use plastic items like bags, cutlery, bottles and cups.”