Biodegradable plastic bags might be tax-free after all

In a sudden change of heart, the government may waive the eco tax on biodegradable plastic bags, amid increasing calls that they are the most environmentally friendly alternative.

This stand clearly contradicts what the government has been arguing since November, when it said it had wanted a blanket tax because "enforcement is a headache".

The aim of the tax is to eliminate, or reduce the 40 million plastic bags used by the Maltese every year. The eco tax meant to be introduced on March 1 would impose a hefty €0.15 on each bag.

However, a producer of biodegradable plastic bags has come forward saying he would supply the local market with his product if the eco tax was waived.

Traplas Ltd director Robert Abela said his company produces biodegradable bags for export, since currently the local market prefers the cheaper conventional bags. The production of biodegradable bags is regulated by strict European laws.

When contacted, Resources Ministry permanent secretary Chris Ciantar said: "The government will not rule out making changes to the current proposal, if it is convinced there are more environment friendly alternatives that guarantee a reduction in the consumption of bags.

"It is positive to note that less than 48 hours after announcing the decision, the private sector (Traplas) is already considering putting biodegradable bags on the market."

An exercise carried out by The Sunday Times among a number of shops, revealed that a total of 160,000 degradable plastic bags were in stock, on which the current eco tax of €0.01 had been already paid.

The retailers argued that the new law will force them to dispose of the plastic bags they ordered before the Budget speech was read out.

Whoever produces or imports plastic carrier bags will have to print a series of details under the Eco Contribution Act and the font size cannot be smaller than two centimetres.

Since the degradable plastic bags currently on the market do not conform to the new tax regime, they cannot be used.

When confronted with these figures, the ministry said it will be looking into the matter on a case-by-case basis and would decide appropriately.

One retailer argued that if the government wanted to make a point on an environmental issue, it should have encouraged consumers to use nothing but biodegradable bags, rather than encouraging paper bags by taxing plastic bags.

Philip Camilleri, who owns Centro Moda in Mosta, said he had a stock of more than 15,000 plastic bags. He said the government had rushed to introduce the new tax without proper consultation.

Edwin Mizzi, who owns Moods in Valletta, and Joe Desira, the managing director of jewellery shop The Maltese Falcon, both said they had 10,000 bags in stock. They had received their consignments in October before the Christmas rush.

Nikol Chetcuti, from Mecca Enterprises in St Paul's Bay, said he had a stock of around 25,000 plastic bags.

Charles Camilleri, a director of Camilleri Holdings that owns BHS and Mothercare, among others, said his company had a stock of close to 100,000 plastic bags, which they use "like hot cakes". He said he did not intend disposing of any of his bags, "not even if I'm jailed".

Managing director of Inserv Ltd, David Pace Bonello, who supplies degradable bags on the local market, argued that most printed carrier bag orders have a minimum run of 10,000 bags so as to make it feasible for production. He said this could take a retail outlet close to two years to use.

"Has the government been given the wrong information by the GRTU (Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises) and believes that business is so good that retailers can get rid of their thousands of carrier bags in just one month?" Mr Pace Bonello asked.

"The reason why the eco contribution measure introduced in 2005 failed miserably was simply the lack of enforcement," he said.

mxuereb@timesofmalta.com