Plastic Bags - COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water

etailers, or contribute to a rebate scheme for consumers who may not be able to afford to
purchase alternatives or who do not have easy access to a range of options.
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Under the November 2005 draft phase-out agreement, some retailer representatives sought the
development of supportive legislation to eliminate plastic bags from January 2009. The draft
agreement proposed the continuation of the phase-out actions and reporting established under the
ARA code, but without specific reduction targets. The main concern of retailers with the draft
agreement was that in the absence of a regulatory safety net, the cost implications of reducing
plastic bags would still have been borne solely by participating retailers (as with the ARA code).
This is particularly relevant for retail sectors where there is high competition and low retail
margins.
Under this option, regulation would be introduced in 2009 compelling retailers to reduce plastic
bag supply. It would allow a significant time lag between voluntary and mandatory action. There
are a number of issues raised by this option. There is the possibility that retailers might make little
additional headway between 2006 and 2008, waiting until just before 2009 to instigate further
action (the draft agreement contained obligations for signatories that included implementation of
an action plan to progressively phase out lightweight plastic carry bags before 31 December 2008
and annual reporting to the National Packaging Covenant <strong>Council</strong>.)
If introduced, this option would need to clearly define which plastic bags are subject to phase-out.
For example, lightweight plastic bags used for purposes of food safety or hygiene (e.g. bags on a
roll, produce bags, fruit and vegetable bags) would be exempt from the phase-out. However, the
restriction would apply to all plastic bags supplied at the point of purchase of goods.
There would be two potential stages associated with implementing this option:
Stage 1 – industry agreement to phase out plastic bags between 2006 and end 2008:
• This could be implemented either as a stand-alone agreement or appended to the
National Packaging Covenant. If the agreement were appended to the covenant,
clarification would need to be sought as to whether the covenant and NEPM
arrangement would require amendment.
Stage 2 – subsequent national legislation to restrict the supply of plastic bags from 1 January 2009:
• Development of the national regulation will depend on what regulatory arrangements
are possible. This may include such tools as a ban, price signal or take-back
requirements.
• Enforcement responsibility may also be an issue depending on the type of regulatory
tool chosen.
An acceptable level for the phase-out target needs to be established and agreed. For instance, the
phase-out level may be 90 percent of all plastic bags based on 2008 levels. This would mean,
potentially, that all but the smallest suppliers would be required to find alternatives to the bags.
Option I: assumptions
For the purposes of this cost-benefit analysis, this option is assumed to consist of
the following features: 113
113 Assumptions used for modelling purposes by Allen Consulting Group in report Phasing Out Light-Weight
<strong>Plastic</strong> <strong>Bags</strong>: Costs and Benefits of Alternative Approaches, p.59
Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement: Investigation of options to reduce the environmental impact of plastic bags January 2007 63