Many people who went shopping yesterday either took their own bags or used discarded cardboard boxes rather than forking out money for plastic bags after the new eco-tax on kicked in on Sunday.
The Times yesterday visited a large supermarket in Birkirkara and it was noticed that shoppers at the cash till were hurriedly placing their shopping in cardboard boxes, strewn by the side of the counter. Others brought along cloth bags.
The new €0.15 tax announced in the last budget started being charged on Sunday but yesterday was the first business day following its introduction. The aim of the new tax is to reduce the 40 million plastic bags the Maltese use each year.
The move was met with stiff criticism, mainly from environmentalists, on the basis that it did not differentiate between conventional bags and the more environment-friendly option - biodegradable bags.
Contrary to the confusion that reigned when a similar eco-tax was introduced on plastic bags in 2005, yesterday shoppers seemed to have accepted the situation and began looking for alternatives to the ubiquitous plastic.
Doris Bonett, a director at Smart Supermarket, said they had expected more panic, just like they had experienced in 2005. She said they had prepared cardboard boxes for customers to use but they quickly ran out of them.
She said consumers were under the false impression that the plastic bags they had in stock could not be used as they did not have the producers' name printed on them, so customers could not even purchase them if they wanted to.
These bags can continue to be used until the end of April but retailers still have to charge the consumer a minimum of €0.15 on each bag and punch in the plastic bags, one by one, on the fiscal receipt.
From May 1, whoever produces or imports plastic carrier bags will have to print the name and address of the person registered under the Eco-Contribution Act, the registration number and the batch number of the consignment on each side of the bag.
If shopkeepers still have stock on May 1, they have two weeks to return the plastic bags to the government, which will refund the amount they had paid in eco-tax on those bags against official receipts. The cost of the bag will not be reimbursed and the government will destroy the stocks.
Ms Bonett said her supermarket had introduced cloth bags before the eco-tax on plastic bags was introduced in 2005. Whoever became a member of the Smart Supermarket Club was given a loyalty card and six free cloth bags to use for their shopping. Extra cloth bags were available at €0.55 each.
She said several customers yesterday purchased cloth bags but most people brought them along from home.
Janice Buttigieg, a customer, was packing her shopping into a cardboard box. She told The Times it was "the only free alternative" she had.
"In a way it's good because I'm recycling. They were going to be dumped anyway. I agree with the measure in principle, but the more environmentally friendly plastic bags should have been cheaper," she said.
Another customer sang the praises of the cloth bag saying it was very handy but expressed some concern on how he would dispose of his domestic rubbish.
He said he would have to start buying black garbage bags, adding that he would stop buying the grey Recycle Tuesdays plastic bags and buy black ones instead "because they can be used for everything".
"The government ought to have tackled illegal littering before targeting plastic bags. This is just like the issue of speed cameras. Before installing speed cameras everywhere, it should have taken other measures to make sure roads are safe, such as crash barriers, decently surfaced roads and proper lighting," he said.
John Borg, a director at Price Choppers Supermarket, said he had not heard any customers complain they were not being given free plastic bags. He said some had purchased bags but most took bags along with them. Plastic bags at this supermarket have been set at €0.20.
The owner of a confectionary in Santa Venera was planning an innovative way of utilising his stock even after the May 1 deadline - he will simply get the carrier bags he has left and cut out the handles, converting them into normal bags, which did not fall under the new regime.
It remains unclear how much the consumer will have to pay because, along with the €0.15 tax, the public has to pay VAT and the cost of the bag, which can vary from shop to shop. Some shops are charging between €0.20 and €0.30 for each bag.
When asked why the government did not impose different eco-tax levels for conventional and biodegradable plastic bags last week, Resources and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said the "visual impact (of the two types) is the same".