PLASTIC CARRIER BAGS
Welsh Assembly Government urged to abandon single-use bag tax / Response to research showing heavier weight bags have higher carbon footprint
The UK carrier bag industry has called on the Welsh Assembly Government to abandon its plans for a carrier bag tax. The Packaging and Films Association (PAFA, Nottingham / UK; www.pafa.org.uk) and the Carrier Bag Consortium (Nottingham / UK; www.carrierbagtax.com) have jointly written to Jane Davidson, the minister for environment, sustainability and housing at the Welsh Assembly Government (Cardiff / Wales; http://wales.gov.uk), to remind her that she gave an undertaking to review the proposed levy if the research being undertaken by the Environment Agency (EA, Bristol / UK; www.environment-agency.gov.uk) proved that the single-use HDPE carrier had a lower carbon footprint than heavier weight alternatives – see Plasteurope.com of 01.03.2011. “We are now calling on Jane Davidson to honour her word and abandon the bag tax in Wales,“ said Barry Turner, PAFA chief executive.
Turner and his colleague, CBC chairman Paul Marmot, highlighted in their letter that one reuse of a so-called single-use carrier, which the EA research showed happened some 40% of the time, required a heavier cotton bag to be used on at least 327 occasions before it had a lower environmental impact. Also, they explained that the need for a punitive tax was no longer necessary since the voluntary code introduced by retailers in Wales had seen consumption drop by around 50%, and up to 70% in some cases. “If it [the bag tax] goes ahead,“ said Marmot, “Wales will suffer higher environmental damage, not less.”
An estimated 350m carrier bags were given away by major supermarkets in Wales in 2009 and Davidson is planning to introduce a statutory minimum charge of five pence (5.5 cents) per bag, commencing 1 October 2011. The tax was confirmed in a written statement to the Welsh Assembly on 1 November 2010 and followed two policy consultations that stemmed from her initial decision to introduce a charge in November 2009 – Plasteurope.com of 09.11.2009. Originally the minister had said the charge would be introduced in the spring of 2010 and would be between 5 pence (5.5 cents) and 15 pence (16.55 cents) per bag.
Turner and his colleague, CBC chairman Paul Marmot, highlighted in their letter that one reuse of a so-called single-use carrier, which the EA research showed happened some 40% of the time, required a heavier cotton bag to be used on at least 327 occasions before it had a lower environmental impact. Also, they explained that the need for a punitive tax was no longer necessary since the voluntary code introduced by retailers in Wales had seen consumption drop by around 50%, and up to 70% in some cases. “If it [the bag tax] goes ahead,“ said Marmot, “Wales will suffer higher environmental damage, not less.”
An estimated 350m carrier bags were given away by major supermarkets in Wales in 2009 and Davidson is planning to introduce a statutory minimum charge of five pence (5.5 cents) per bag, commencing 1 October 2011. The tax was confirmed in a written statement to the Welsh Assembly on 1 November 2010 and followed two policy consultations that stemmed from her initial decision to introduce a charge in November 2009 – Plasteurope.com of 09.11.2009. Originally the minister had said the charge would be introduced in the spring of 2010 and would be between 5 pence (5.5 cents) and 15 pence (16.55 cents) per bag.
18.03.2011 Plasteurope.com [218862-0]
Published on 18.03.2011