Three million plastic bags, which retailers are estimated to still have in stock, would be distributed free to customers despite the new tax on the bags, the director general of the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU, Vince Farrugia said.
Speaking on the television programme KontroEżami on Tuesday evening, Mr Farrugia said this was the solution found following talks with the government after retailers complained they were being forced to throw away thousands of euros worth of plastic bags.
In fact, plastic bag producers and shop owners are petitioning the government to give them a two-year moratorium on the new tax in order to give them more time to get rid of their old stock.
The majority ordered quantities of between 5,000 and 10,000 bags before the tax was introduced on May 1 and now they have surplus stocks that are estimated to last them at least two years, depending on their size and location.
As a result, manufacturers, wholesalers and shop owners lashed out at the new 15c eco tax imposed on every bag because they said they did not have enough time to get rid of their stock.
The aim of the tax is to reduce the 40 million plastic bags the Maltese used each year.
In a bid to ease their situation, the government gave them up to May 1 to get rid of stock and promised them a refund of the eco tax they paid on the bags that remained.
The refund, however, will not cover the actual cost of the plastic bags or the VAT they paid on them, so it still leaves businesses out of pocket.
Retailers still complained and insisted that even if they were given a hundred extensions, they would still not utilise their stock because customers were unwilling to pay a minimum of 15c for a plastic bag.
When asked what the GRTU had done to defend the retailers, Mr Farrugia said that a solution had been found. He said the plan was to introduce a special sticker for retailers to attach to plastic bags in order to distinguish between the old and the new stock.
Mr Farrugia said the bags that were still in stock could be given to customers free of charge once the special sticker would have been stuck onto them.
This contrasts with what was said by Joe Attard, the GRTU's environmental consultant, who on Monday told The Times that removing the charge "was never in our thoughts".
During the programme, Mr Farrugia defended the new tax on plastic bags, saying the aim behind it was an environmental one.
Asked to confirm the details of the agreement that the government reached with the GRTU, the Resources Ministry declined to comment, simply saying that "talks between the government and GRTU are still ongoing. The government will communicate details as soon as they are finalised".
mxuereb@timesofmalta.com