Tuesday, 6th January 2009
Eco-friendly plastic bags and the GRTU
It is good to note that the government has refrained from publishing the Legal Notice required to activate the latest 15c eco-tax proposed in the budget speech on all plastic carrier bags, whether degradable or not.
Surprisingly, however, the GRTU issued a statement exhorting retailers "to eradicate the use of all plastic carrier bags" by charging the customer this eco-tax of 15c as proposed in the last budget plus an additional mark-up of 7c as profit, in spite of being aware that the relevant Legal Notice has not been published.
This means that this eco-tax, if collected, cannot even be passed on to the VAT department as the latter has no official instructions in this regard and therefore does not have the necessary accounting set-up to receive such a tax.
Even more confusing is the fact that just two days later, the same GRTU issued another statement urging the retailers to "challenge the government eco-tax on plastic carrier bags".
The GRTU would have portrayed itself as a more trustworthy union had it urged its members to insist on using only degradable polyethylene carrier bags, like the type produced locally and which carry an eco-tax of only two cents each since they are meant to disintegrate after use and according to the only official Legal Notice of the 2005 Eco-Contribution Act.
On the other hand, it should outrightly oppose those retailers who purchase or acquire those conventional plastic carrier bags which are imported illegally without paying the appropriate eco-tax of 14c each bag (because they are not of the degradable type) as per the same Legal Notice of the 2005 Eco-Contribution Act.
Furthermore, the GRTU should put the necessary pressure on the government to create an effective set-up to control this illegal importation.
Consequently, the GRTU would be aiding retailers not to have to opt for alternative, more expensive means of flexible packaging, while at the same time safeguarding the employment of all those Maltese workers involved in the manufacture of degradable polyethylene carrier bags that are produced locally.
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Comments
You are right. I was also doing something else when I typed my answer and I thought that I had typed "And to cap it all" before the word wages to compliment your argument.
laurence schembri
Can you please play the song "There's a hole in the bucket dear Gonzi, dear Gonzi"
My point exactly 1p and3p in british money is considerably cheaper than 15eurocents per bag. I know exactly what the prices and wages comparisons are here in Malta.
Wages and salaries are much higher in the UK and Ireland than in Malta.
H Dempster
Haven't you heard that their President is running for the EP election on the Government side? Would you expect him to rock the boat?
we will eventually have to buy strong re-usable bags such as UK Tesco have been doing for quite some time now - as for the continued use of plastic bags most flat dwellers will require to buy them for refuse disposal anyway - so does that mean the flimsy plastic bags will still cost 15c each (and where would we get them from) or is there a cheaper option on buying them soley for refuse disposal??..... id like to know