Cloth bags making a comeback

As the dust began to settle following the extension of the eco-contribution on a number of items, the most tangible of which was the tax on plastic bags, supermarkets and shoppers yesterday began looking for alternatives to the ubiquitous plastic shopping bags.

The eco-tax has pushed the cost of plastic bags up from just a few mils to about 7c. As a result, some supermarkets, such as SISA Malta, have begun giving customers cloth bags or bags made of durable material with their shopping.

Smart Supermarket managing director Victor Grech said they had introduced cloth bags two years ago and had given customers four such bags each, along with a loyalty card.

"We give shoppers one point for every time they use a cloth bag. Even so, we gave out some 200,000 bags and only about 40,000 were being used. Now that plastic bags have become expensive, people will start making more use of them."

Mr Grech said Smart Supermarket used about two million plastic bags a year. "At 1c each, that cost us Lm20,000 a year. Cloth bags cost about 25c each but they last a very long time and we replace torn ones free of charge. We are currently awaiting a consignment of 100,000 of them.

"We are currently discussing with the government the possibility of donating a cloth bag to every child in primary schools as we want to foster a culture of doing away with plastic bags.

"In a way I pity those in the plastic industry. I was in the textiles business myself 20 years ago and employed 120 people. When textiles were no longer viable, I had to change. This is the way of the world. Change or fall by the wayside," he said.

"Plastic bags became prohibitively expensive but unless this measure was taken they would have continued to be used. Everyone knows that plastic is damaging to the environment so it was about time that the move was made by the government," Mr Grech added.

No eco-tax is being charged on bio-degradable plastic bags, which are made from renewable materials and can be turned into compost. The tax on degradable plastic, which eventually disintegrates, is less than half that on normal plastic.

Environment Minister George Pullicino said the government wanted to impose a tax that would eliminate plastic bags rather than generate revenue.

"Had we imposed a 1c tax, people would have paid it and the bags would have remained in use. I hope sectors of industry will not absorb it but go back to paper, degradable and bio-degradable bags. It is positive not to use plastic.

"Had we not imposed the tax, nothing would have changed. Now that it is imposed, people will no longer throw them away easily and industrialists will make or import degradable ones or start making bags out of other materials that are not harmful to the environment," Mr Pullicino said.

"There is no eco-contribution on export-oriented items. Neither is there a tax on bags used for bread or other foodstuffs because the tax applies to bags of a certain size.

"We just want to see the gradual elimination of plastic bags. I hope that in a year's time there will no longer be litter from plastic bags anywhere. And that would not be a victory for me but for the environment."

Mr Pullicino argued that the government had not imposed a law when no other alternatives existed - as degradable and bio-degradable bags were available.

"The Irish experience showed that consumption of plastic was reduced by 90 per cent in 12 months. There, as happened here, there were positive comments by people and shops but very disparaging ones by those producing plastic bags.

"People will learn to recycle what they have and start using the qoffa (wicker bag) again. People used to use cloth bags, which came for free as they used textile leftovers. There was nothing wrong in that at all and it is good to go back to old habits which are not harmful to the environment," Mr Pullicino said.

Asked why the government announced the tax overnight, Mr Pullicino said the budget made it clear that the eco-contribution was going to be introduced on new items and even identified some of them but fiscal measures could only be implemented overnight as hoarding would otherwise take place.

Contacted yesterday, chemistry professor Alfred Vella said plastic was convenient but it had harmful effects, especially when burnt.

"When it is burnt in landfills with other matter, there is a release of dioxins, which are cancer-causing agents. Dioxin is extremely resistant and is passed into the food chain if it ends up in an animal that is eaten by people," Prof. Vella said.

Marine pollution from plastic bags also ends up killing fish and other marine life, he added.

Robert Abela, owner of plastic-bag maker Traplas Ltd, said the government should have declared it wanted to eliminate plastic earlier and not encourage industrialists to invest and then impose such measures.

Asked why industrialists were not producing degradable or bio-degradable plastic, Mr Abela said the tax on degradable bags was still far too high while bio-degradable plastic was too fragile for shopping bags.

Degradable plastic was 20 per cent more expensive than usual plastic, Mr Abela said.

Mr Pullicino said the government never encouraged anyone to invest in the plastic industry. The government introduced eco-contribution two budgets ago and had made it clear it would spread the tax and favour non-polluting industries.

He said a meeting was planned to resolve an issue identified by industrialists on Tuesday who argued that the tax on degradable material should be eliminated altogether because although it was half that of other plastics its effect was practically the same because degradable plastic was heavier.

"If the issue is between degradable and bio-degradable plastic we are open to talks. We have to make a distinction between degradable plastic, which ends up in the compost stream and is therefore damaging, and bio-degradable plastic which is harmless," Mr Pullicino said.