Plastic Bags - COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water

5
10
15
20
Biodegradable bags
The availability of biodegradable bags is a core component of the ANRA proposal. Currently, there
is uncertainty about the practicality and cost of bags from a retailer point of view, and the
desirability of biodegradable plastics from a social and environmental point of view. Without
prejudice to the view eventually taken by EPHC on biodegradable bags, it is reasonable to assume
that widespread take-up of biodegradable bags by retailers will only be supported by governments
if these difficulties are addressed.
For the purposes of comparison, ACG uses the following assumptions for costs and impacts for
biodegradable bags. However, it should be noted that the cost of bags may alter with additional
research into product types. The environmental impact of biodegradable bags as litter can alter
dramatically according to the conditions in which the bag ends up, so the number provided is in
the nature of a ‘ball park’ figure.
Assumptions used for biodegradable bags:
• cost: 10 cents per bag (assumed to be of equivalent carrying capacity to a HDPE plastic
bag), relative to a cost of 3 cents per HDPE plastic bag
• environmental impact: 30 percent of that for a HDPE plastic bag, i.e. a littered
biodegradable bag is likely to impose only 30 percent of the cost of a HDPE bag.
25
30
The key assumptions for the ‘baseline’ used in the supplementary ACG analysis are:
• governments maintain the current level of effort in terms of education, litter action and
monitoring
• retailers maintain the current level of voluntary effort, and there are no new participants
• consumer bag-consumption patterns remain consistent with 2005 behaviour in terms of
demand for plastic bags, reusables and other alternatives
• bag consumption grows at 2.5 percent a year, in line with assumed growth in retail
turnover.
35
40
45
Option N: The ANRA proposal (ACG supplementary scenarios 1a and 1b)
Description and assumptions
The numbers of retailers signing up to a new ANRA code would depend on a number of factors,
including the extent of ‘free-rider’ coverage. Such free-rider coverage may prompt ANRA to
negotiate with governments to change the nature of the agreement from a purely voluntary to a
co-regulatory approach.
Two variations on the ANRA proposal were considered. The significant difference between the
variations concerned the assumed take-up by the retail sector.
Na) The ‘high take-up’ option (scenario 1a) assumes acceptance and achievement of targets
by all Group One retailers plus all other retailers with an annual turnover greater than $5
million per year. Such a threshold would apply if the proposed ANRA code of practice
were appended to the National Packaging Covenant.
Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement: Investigation of options to reduce the environmental impact of plastic bags January 2007 77