Retailers Urge Executive to Oppose Plastic Bag Tax

RETAILERS today urged the Scottish Executive to oppose a tax on plastic bags, ahead of a new report on the plans.

The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and the Carrier Bag Consortium (CBC) said the proposed 10 pence levy was an administrative nightmare and would increase waste.

The executive will publish a report into the plans, raised in the Plastic Bag Levy (Scotland) Bill by Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Pringle. An executive spokeswoman declined to comment on its contents in advance.

But the CBC claimed the report stated that a switch to paper bags from plastic ones would lead to an extra 5400 tonnes of waste going to landfill sites, with the potential to degrade into carbon dioxide and methane.

It was also claimed the report found the move could result in 700 jobs being lost and that councils had concerns about the tax collection. CBC chairman Barry Turner said:

“In the face of emotive misinformation and political spin, which has described plastic carrier bags as a menace, the experts commissioned by the executive have reached many robust conclusions which effectively dismantle the environmental myths surrounding the effects a plastic bag tax would have on Scotland and its people.”

SRC director Fiona Moriarty added: “The (report) offers very little justification for the introduction of a plastic bag tax. The Scotland scheme is flawed and we are not convinced that it delivers genuine environmental benefits.”

She added: “The introduction of a levy on carriers will unfairly penalise the innovative steps being made towards the manufacture of bags from recycled plastics or using biodegradable plastics.

“A tax should encourage markets for recycled plastic carriers instead of penalising alternatives.” An executive spokeswoman said: “The executive has not yet taken a position on the bill.

“We will see what evidence is presented and what progress we make with the retailers on our proposed code of practice on providing plastic bags.”