International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

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� Retailers find the effects of the tax on their well-being neutral or positive, closely
related to the fact that the additional costs of implementation were generally
less than the savings resulting from not having to purchase plastic bags.
Implementation costs were low because bookkeeping was integrated with VAT
returns; and
� Overall, consumers were very much in favour of the levy. The majority felt that
the impact of the levy in terms of convenience at checkouts and more generally
was enhanced, but that the levy had added to their expense. Virtually all
respondents responded that they felt the impact on the environment was
positive, producing a noticeable reduction in plastic bags ‘in the environment’.
Fehily Timoney et al carried out an ex ante study on the impact of the tax on the
plastic bag industry. 579 This study included a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of plastic
and paper bags using a weighting system, based on how far away each impact was
from a sustainable target level. Using this approach, plastic bags were shown to have
a lower total impact score of 7.9 compared to paper bags with a score of 8.9. 580
In this context, it is worth noting that it has been suggested that since the introduction
of the plastic bag levy that paper shopping bags are more prevalent (though we can
find no data on the consumption of paper bags before or after the ban, usage is
expected to have increased). 581 Figure 27-2 below illustrates the percentage of paper
bags as a percentage of the National Litter Composition from 2003 to 2008. The
Litter Quantification Survey results available from the National Litter Pollution
Monitoring System show that paper bags as a constituent element of litter pollution
appear to be more or less stable, but crucially, as with plastic bags, no pre-levy data is
available so one cannot assess whether the proportion of paper bags in litter has
increased or not. Further study is needed to assess how bag consumption (both paper
and plastic) has changed and what the resulting environmental impacts of the policy
have been.
In a study dated September 2004 completed by EuroCommerce which analysed
plastic bags in an Integrated Product Policy (IPP) context the main conclusion stated
that:
“Little or negative gain was found to be derived from the shift from single use
bags to other single use bags such as biodegradable bags and paper bags,
with potential litter gains offset by negative resource use, energy and
greenhouse outcomes” 582 .
579 Fehily, Timoney & Company (1999) Consultancy Study on Plastic Bags, Report prepared for the
Department of Environment and Local Government, Dublin.
580 Ibid.
581 Sales figures for paper bags in the period before and after the Levy was requested from the
DoEHLG, but this information does not exist.
582 EuroCommerce, Environment & Logistics (September 2004) “The Use of LCAs on Plastic Bags in an
IPP Context”.
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes