[Metrobeans]

B471 - Plastic Bag Levy Bill 2012, TSR Liberal Democrat

Plastic Bag Levy Bill 2012

A Bill to introduce a levy for obtaining a disposable plastic bag for the storage and carrying of objects.

BE IT ENACTED by The Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Commons in this present Parliament assembled, in accordance with the provisions of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

1. Charges
1.1 The supply of 'disposable plastics bags' by 'retailers' to 'customers' shall incur a levy of 10 pence for each 'disposable plastic bag' obtained by the 'customer';
1.2 Wherever 'disposable plastics bags' are available to 'customers', the 'retailer' must also supply an alternative in the form of 'reusable plastic bags';
1.3 Section 1.2 only applies if the retail premises exceed a floor space of 280 square metres;
1.4 All plastic bags used, whether 'disposable' or 'reusable', will be at least 30 micrometers in thickness;
1.5 The 'retailers' will charge the levy themselves for any 'disposable plastic bag' they or their employees use on or off the retail premises, where that use is work related;

2. Definitions
'Reusable plastic bag' means any plastic bag which is strong enough to be use several times and which can currently be purchased at a cost of no less than five times the sum of the levy set out in 1.1;
'Disposable plastic bag' means any bag not defined as a 'Reusable plastic bag' and which is thicker than 30 micrometres.
'Customer' refers to any person, people or organisation which requires a product or products from other sources.
'Retailer' refers to any person, people or organisation which supplies a product or products to other sources.

3. Payment of charges

3.1 The 10 pence levy set out in 1.1 shall be paid by the 'retailer' to the Treasury;
3.2 The 'retailer' shall pay accumulated levies on a quarterly basis, via a returns form;
3.3 In compensation for administrative costs, 10% of the levy collected shall remain with the 'retailer;'
3.4 In addition 10% of the original levy (i.e. before 3.3 was applied) shall be used by the Treasury to cover its administrative costs;
3.5 The rest of the levy shall be sent to an 'Environmental Improvement Scheme,' which shall allocate funding to any projects which seek to improve the natural environment of any area in the UK;

4. Exemptions
4.1 The following types of bags are exempt from all sections of this Act (including 1.4):
(1). Bags used to contain fresh meat, fish or poultry, loose fruit and vegetables and other foods that are not otherwise packaged;
(2). Bags used to contain ice and powdered detergents;
(3). Plastic bags used to contain goods or products sold on board an aircraft or ship, or in an area of a port or airport to which intending passengers are denied access unless in possession of a valid ticket or boarding card;

5. Commencement, and extent
5.1 This Act shall come into force on the first day of October 2012;
5.2 This Act extends to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland;

Notes

Spoiler:

Show

Background:

1. Plastic bags normally used by retailers are usually weak and are manufactured in vast quantities. We use over 8 billion a year in the UK and the manufacture of them is dangerous to the environment.

2. These plastic bags produce a large amount of waste which is hard to dispose of, dangerous to wildlife/the environment and very slow to decompose - usually ending up as tiny plastic pellets rather than complete decomposing (tiny plastic pellets are found in huge quantities on our beaches and are being consumed by wildlife and so entering the food chain).

3. Many bags currently classed as reusable (the ones which only cost a few pence) are still often weak and are not always suitable for re-using.

4. A similar levy, on which several of the ideas outline below are based, has been introduced in Ireland; it was responsible for a 90% decrease in non-reusable bags used and brought in 3.5 million Euros revenue in the first 5 months. In the UK, we should expect a similar percentage reduction and estimate that 80-120 million Euros shall be raised in the first year; it should be noted however that the scheme will not raise any additional money overall for the government as most of the money raised shall be automatically allocated to environmental projects.

5. Links:

a. On the Irish scheme
b. Also on the Irish scheme
c. A BBC article on plastic bags

[JPKC]

Aight, man. Though the tax will be passed onto the customer methinks.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[tehFrance]

No, the tax shall be passed on... I do not support additional taxes... you can really tell the party is swinging left

[Lord-Voldemort]

In the words of Maggie: No, No, No.

[internetguru]

How much is Tesco paying you?

[Birchington]

This tax only applies to those that use new plastic bags. Rather than hitting the pockets of British consumers, it will hopefully engender a change in the current throwaway culture surrounding plastic bag use. If consumers reuse their bags, they can both save the environment and avoid this levy on new bags. The long term environmental benefits of this Bill should be welcomed across the House.

[paperclip]

(Original post by Birchington)
This tax only applies to those that use new plastic bags. Rather than hitting the pockets of British consumers, it will hopefully engender a change in the current throwaway culture surrounding plastic bag use. If consumers reuse their bags, they can both save the environment and avoid this levy on new bags. The long term environmental benefits of this Bill should be welcomed across the House.

Why stop at plastic bags? Why not replace them all with canvas bags?

Also, where are you pulling this ten percent figure from for admin costs? Wouldnt it be more sensible to pay what it costs them, up to a limit of ten percent? Or whatever...

[barnetlad]

This bill should be recited in an Irish accent as I think it's more or less what the Republic of Ireland does.

Presumably the exemption on bags with good bought on an aircraft is just there to upset Michael O'Leary of Ryanair as it's not another extra charge he can add?

As I represent the interests of a party that was once led by a cat, and therefore I feel the interests of animals, fewer plastic bags means less chance of harm coming to an animal accidentally from one, so I feel I should support the bill.

[MacDaddi]

10p, no. 5p probably. To think that if you go on a decent sized shop and you'll end up paying a quid just for plazzy bags

[xXedixXx]

(Original post by JPKC)
Aight, man. Though the tax will be passed onto the customer methinks.

Exactly. It will be the customer that suffers.

[Lipvig]

Completely unnecessary. If you want to reduce the number of plastic bags, simply make a law saying that shops must charge, say, 5p per plastic bag, but get to keep the money.

[Moleman1996]

No, this will hit the consumer not the supermarket.

[Student2806]

(Original post by MacCuishy)
10p, no. 5p probably. To think that if you go on a decent sized shop and you'll end up paying a quid just for plazzy bags

I think that's the point - you won't pay for plastic bags, instead choosing to bring your own. This isn't a money-making scheme, it's an attempt to reduce the use of plastic bags that have a devastating effect on our environment.

[Student2806]

This levy will only hit consumers if they stupidly choose to continue hoarding handfuls of bags every time they shop. Logic dictates that people can overcome this simply by getting a few long-life, reusable bags that supermarkets already sell.
As an example of this in action, look at Ireland. It imposed a 12p levy on bags in 2002 and within a year 90% of shoppers were using long-life bags. Belgium, Germany, Spain, Norway and the Netherlands are now doing the same.

[JPKC]

(Original post by xXedixXx)
Exactly. It will be the customer that suffers.

That's not a good enough reason to object to this. The whole point is to alter the habits of consumers, which is achieved through a price rise. If you care about consumers/businesses so much then you'll vote 'aye' on the Banking Bill and give those earning below £20,000 a large tax cut, while also cutting business taxes by 50%.

[tehFrance]

(Original post by JPKC)
The whole point is to alter the habits of consumers, which is achieved through a price rise.

What stupidity, alcohol and cigarettes have gone up in price various times over the years and yet very few people stop buying them... your logic is flawed on this one.

[stanlas]

Aye.
I'm surprised by all the objections based on consumers. Sure, there will be slightly higher prices. However, the tax will raise a total of around £100 million per annum.... in a nation of over 60 million people. This is not a huge price to pay, and it is something worth paying if it leads to a reduction in plastic bags being thrown into landfill sites.

Plus you worry about consumers being affected in TSR land by an extra £100 million tax? Well, over the past couple of months, VAT has been reduced by £65 billion.... I'd say the consumers are doing pretty well at the moment to be honest.

[stanlas]

(Original post by tehFrance)
What stupidity, alcohol and cigarettes have gone up in price various times over the years and yet very few people stop buying them... your logic is flawed on this one.

Its based partially on the Irish example, which saw a 90% decrease in the use of non-reusable bags after the tax was implemented. A pretty decent result

[stanlas]

(Original post by paperclip)
Wouldnt it be more sensible to pay what it costs them, up to a limit of ten percent? Or whatever...

It probably wouldn't, as that would create a new layer of bureaucracy to work out the costs, and companies would probably try and cheat to overestimate their 'administration' expenses.
And yes, the 10% figure is arbitrary- it was chosen because £10 million seems like a sensible estimate for overall administration costs for firms

[Student2806]

(Original post by tehFrance)
What stupidity, alcohol and cigarettes have gone up in price various times over the years and yet very few people stop buying them... your logic is flawed on this one.

But comparing alcohol and cigarettes to plastic bags makes perfect sense...