Green tax takes 1bn plastic bags off the shelves

Irish Independent
Tuesday, August 20, 2002

IRISH shoppers have dramatically cut their use of plastic bags by 90pc and this year will leave 1bn bags behind at stores nationwide.
In the first three months since the new 15-cent plastic bag levy was
introduced by the Government some 277m fewer bags were used by consumers,
the Irish Independent has learned.

First official receipts from the Revenue Commissioners show that the tax
introduced in March raised ?3.5m in the first three months - that came from
23m bags compared with the 300m that would normally be used by shoppers in
that period.

The figures due to be published later this week also show the levy will
raise ?10m in the full year and have produced a dramatic change in Irish
shopping habits.

Instead of using a staggering 1.2bn plastic bags shoppers will walk away
from checkouts with just 120m plastic bags over a 12-month period in a sea
change of shopping culture.

The ?10m expected to be raised in the first year is to be used to establish
a new Office for Environmental Enforcement and a nationwide service for the
disposal of fridges and freezers.

The figures show that between March 4 when the plastic bag tax became law
and June 4 the Revenue Commissioners collected ?3.5m from almost 3,000
retailers nationwide after they handed over 23m bags - 277m less than
normal.

Before the introduction of the levy there was mounting concern at the
environmental impact of the 1.2bn plastic bags being provided free to the
public each year.

The levy was an world "first" and the British government is considering
following Ireland's example.

Environment Minister Martin Cullen says the figures are "evidence that the
mindset is changing and proof that implementation of similar strategies must
continue if we are to tackle Ireland's waste problem".

"When one considers the scale of the litter problem caused by plastic bags
in the past and the resulting cost to the taxpayer it brings home how this
incentive has captured the public imagination," he says.

"It is clear the public has embraced this initiative from the day it was
introduced.

"They have accepted the discipline of bringing their reusable bags with them
when they shop and the retailing sector also responded very positively to
the new disciplines involved in operating the levy."

The reduction in the use of disposable plastic bags had been "immediate and
the positive visual impact on the environment is plain to see".

Under the original proposal by the Government, all of the money raised from
the levy is to be used for environmental purposes. The responsibility for
collecting the levy is with the Revenue Commissioners while the local
authorities must make sure it is enforced.

Treacy Hogan, Environment Correspondent