Legal notice imposing tax on plastic bags not yet published

lgalea

Jan 1st 2009, 01:02

J Busuttil
NO its not to protect the environment but to get more money for Gonzipn to squander.
If Gonzipn had guts he would have stood up to the eu and and ban plastic bottles.

He's a lion where the Maltese citizens are concerned but he's a chicken where the eu is concerned.

J. Borg

Dec 31st 2008, 22:04

Government's environmental concerns & credentials are as evident as MEPA's transperancy!

What a load of rubbish........
no distinction between bio and conventional bags
Plastic bottles instead of glass

What needs disposing.....is this political establishment
It was bad before, and it is still worse after having been recycled!

O.Grixti

Dec 31st 2008, 19:24

Do you think it is an environment issue ??? Or it will be another tax on all Maltese people ? So you are going to tax 15c on each bag , which can be used and reused, and the new bags are all bi-degradable. While introducing the plastic bottles, if these are left in direct sun, will become poison for human, drinking from plastic.

steve rizzo

Dec 31st 2008, 18:55

And what is wrong using biobags without the introduction of any taxes; is this not friendly....? what about this side of the argument, no one has commented about this...the government is as usual wanting to reap the benefits..

Paul Barrett

Dec 31st 2008, 18:54

I currently use the plastic bags from my shopping to cleanly and hygienically dispose of my household rubbish in skips. By doing this, it keeps the skip clean (or cleaner), cuts down smells and makes life difficult for flies.

By changing to paper bags or just tipping my rubbish bin in the skip, I am not assisting in making life more pleasant for those living near the skip. Additionally, for those that have house to house collections, using paper bags for rubbish during wet periods is going to cause massive amounts of rubbish to be scattered all over the place.

No - I will not be spending money buying rubbish bags just to throw away.

Joseph Zammit

Dec 31st 2008, 18:28

Why do we Maltese be afraid of such Changes? Let us look the way foward ... Retailers shouldstock Paper Bags too and let the consumer choose ...... According to the mesure paper bags are exempt from this new notice

Darby Allen

Dec 31st 2008, 18:27

Have I read this right? Is the tax to be applied to ALL plastic bags? Or only on plastic shopping bags, as in Ireland?

When I buy a half-kilo of mince from the butcher's he places it in a small plastic bag to keep it clean and to prevent the meat from bleeding over everything else. Same thing when buying fresh produce such as plums and mushrooms.

If people are expected to pay 15¢ each for those bags they will stop buying fresh loose items and stick to tinned or pre-packaged goods, to the detriment of butchers and greengrocers.

The option is for vendors to wrap the produce in paper, as of old, but that will give rise to its own ecological problems - and you can't use the paper to wrap your refuse!

So let's hope that the tax applies to shopping bags only!

D Vella

Dec 31st 2008, 18:09

Why not bring back glass bottles if they are so concerned about the envoirment. Plastic bags at least have a secondary and often unlimited use.

J Busuttil

Dec 31st 2008, 18:09

@Philip Pace

Yes Sir use cloth bags that is the meaning of the 15c on plastics bag. We must ALL safeguard our environment.Plastic BAGS are not meant for rubbish. Sometime ago the 'IL-MUMENT' newspaper distributed a CLOTH BAG with every issue to encourage people to disuse PLASTIC BAGS.

Joseph Ellis

Dec 31st 2008, 18:02

Is this new tax a case for a legal notice or does it necessitate an act of parliament ? Unfortunately, we have become so used to having anything under the sun enacted by legal notices, even when the parent act does not permit such enactment, that the GRTU made no reference to the need for an act of parliament but just referred to a legal notice.

Once the eco-tax applies to products that are put on the market (section 3), for the state to oblige retailers to sell plastic bags, in my view, there is the need for an act of parliament, and the proposed tax cannot be imposed by a simple legal notice. If the schedule to the Eco-tax act is changed by legal notice, the eco-tax on plastic bags would be applied only if the retailer chooses to sell the plastic bag, but not if he chooses to give it away.

It should be borne in mind that legal notices should be used where strictly necessary and permitted and should not breach the parameters of the parent act which unfortunately, seems to be happening at times.

David Stephen Ganado

Dec 31st 2008, 18:01

@Philip Pace
Have you not realised yet that the whole point of the drastic increase in the price of plastic bags is precisely for us to STOP using them!! The Gewlaq or Cloth bags are definately the way forward

Gerard Cassar

Dec 31st 2008, 17:47

We will return to garbage bucket or tins. Nbody is so well to do to spend some three or four times a plasticbag or some one Euro daily to then deliver it to the garbage collector.
Now is the time for those makling money out of recycling plastics, papers, tins etc to distribute free of charge plastic bags to be used for their convenience.

Fleur Vella

Dec 31st 2008, 17:34

We use plastic bags for rubbish. No plastic bags given out with shopping means that we have to pay for garbage bags. This is an additional financial burden on families. Is the economy is a position to further depress consumption? Can retailers accept further decreases in sales? Will this measure result in further illegal dumping and litter in our streets? How many plastic bags are needed to equal the emissions from our public transport? Of course muscle power of bus drivers is always the strongest.

Duncan Sant

Dec 31st 2008, 17:06

I guess that the retailers and the GRTU are in favour of this new tax, because it will also mean an extra income for the businesses. I quote from the artivle:
"The retailer, the chamber said, would sell the bags at a price that would include the price of the bag, the tax, a profit margin and value added tax."
This means that the bags would cost us consumers around 25c each if you consider a profit margin for the retailer and VAT.... another way of businesses getting more from the consumer.
I personally never throw away plastic bags unless they are thorn and I will not pay for plastic bags but will use what I already have.

J. Tonna

Dec 31st 2008, 16:48

We have been using cloth bags for some time and at time we do not even accept the plastic bags given free by retailers.
Another thing that the environmentalist should move forward is that all of us should leave all plastics for the Tuesday collections and not every day.

philip pace

Dec 31st 2008, 16:36

It is unacceptable for the GRTU to have accepted this money garnering decision by the Government as this tax is certainly not to saveguard the environment but to add more money to the empty coffers.
To charge 15c for a small bag is outrageous and immoral.
As I wrote before in Belgium the place where 'Mount Olympus' (the EU) is situated, they charge you about 1c to 3c to 5c for a very large bag (6 times the volume our small plastic bag) and some places are not bothered about this at all.
An Irish man recently wrote that in Ireland they charge you 22c which is obscene.
The only way for the Maltese Citizen to show his disapproval towards the Government is to use the old gewlaq or cloth bags.
I shall do this.
What about you?
GRTU you got this wrong.