Plastic Bags - COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water

1. Executive summary
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This consultation Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) has been prepared for the Environment
Protection and Heritage <strong>Council</strong> (EPHC) by a multi-jurisdictional working party. The consultation
RIS evaluates options for potential voluntary, co-regulatory, and regulatory action to reduce the
environmental impact of plastic bags. Its purpose is to inform any future policy decision on plastic
bags. It is being used as part of the EPHC public consultation process relating to the management
of plastic bag litter, and it outlines government and industry action to date and discusses the
implications of possible future intervention. In 2007, EPHC Ministers will consider whether
nationally-coordinated government action is required to reduce the impact of plastic bags.
<strong>Plastic</strong> bags pervade Australian society and like many other forms of packaging, are prone to
becoming litter. Despite being only a small percentage of all litter, their visibility, persistence and
ease of dispersal make them a highly visible component of the litter stream. The cost of cleaning up
this litter can be significant for public entities (state and local government), companies, and notfor-profit
organisations in terms of money, labour costs, and volunteer hours. Costs are also
associated with education and awareness campaigns and the provision of infrastructure to
discourage the litter.
A number of measures are in place which are helping to reduce the impact of plastic bags on the
environment. These include anti-litter regulations, the National Packaging Covenant, and
voluntary mechanisms (such as Victoria’s <strong>Plastic</strong> Bag Free Challenge; the Australian Government’s
small business initiative; and bag reduction efforts by some retailers). In spite of these measures,
plastic bags continue to impact on the environment.
In June 2006, EPHC reaffirmed its conclusion that lightweight, single use plastic bags should be
phased out by the end of 2008. As a consequence, EPHC requested advice on regulatory and other
scenarios that might achieve the objective of reducing the impact of plastic bags on the
environment, including nationally consistent regulatory scenarios of a ban, a mandatory retailer’s
charge, an advanced disposal fee and a government levy. Specifically, the objective of government
action, if deemed necessary, would be to address the negative impact of plastic bag litter on the
community and the Australian environment. Action would address the externalities caused by the
impact of using plastic carry bags, which are currently not borne directly by those responsible for
creating the plastic bag litter. These externalities include:
• the impact of plastic bag litter on amenity
• the impact of plastic bag litter on wildlife
• the costs created by plastic bag litter in waste management.
This consultation RIS considers fifteen alternatives for possible action on plastic bags. The options
are addressed in two main groups: one group looks at options which focus on litter-based
activities; and the other group looks at options which target the consumption of plastic bags at the
point of sale. The consultation RIS draws on economic data and analysis prepared by the Allen
Consulting Group (ACG) in two reports, Phasing out light-weight plastic bags: costs and benefits of
alternative approaches and The ANRA proposal on plastic bag management: supplementary economic
analysis to the EPHC report. The ACG reports are companion documents to this RIS.
Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement: Investigation of options to reduce the environmental impact of plastic bags January 2007 8