PLASTIC BAGS
Debate on UK parliament's proposed plastic bag charge heats up / Symphony calls for exemption for oxo-biodegradable bags
 The proposed 5p bag charge in England has raised up a storm (Photo: Fotolia) |
Oxo-biodegradable plastic technology provider Symphony Environmental Technologies (Borehamwood / UK; www.symphonyplastics.com) is the latest player to comment on the UK parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) and its report on plastic bags. In it, the EAC recommends that a 5p charge be levied on all plastic bags distributed across England, regardless of whether they are biodegradable or not. The parliamentary group said the government’s proposal to exempt smaller retailers or biodegradable bags from the scheme would be too complex and cause confusion among shoppers. In addition, the report states “the proposed exemption for biodegradable bags risks damaging the UK plastics recycling industry, could undermine the reduction in bag use, and is not necessary.”
Symphony, by contrast, favours the government’s position that biodegradable plastic bags be exempt from the charge, which is to be introduced in 2015, adding “the EAC has shown insufficient cause for its opposition to such treatment.” Specifically, Symphony said the committee had failed to realise that a substantial number of bags are reused and thus do not qualify as single-use bags.
The report also fails to address the problem posed by plastic bags being discarded into the open environment, Symphony said, adding that if these bags are not collected, they cannot be recycled either. This litter problem, the UK company says, is best addressed by oxo-biodegradable technology, which ensures that bags discarded into the open environment actually biodegrade. The same does not apply to compostable bags, which require special industrial composting conditions to degrade. For this reason, Symphony said, there is no point in exempting bio-based compostable bags from a charge.
Echoing this belief, the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association (London / UK; www.biodeg.org) has come out in favour of a 5p charge for an oxo-biodegradable bag with 40% recycled content, proposing all bags made of non-degradable plastic be subject to a 10p levy.
Earlier, the British Plastics Federation (BPF, London / UK; www.bpf.co.uk) came out against the proposed charge, although the federation’s opposition applied to all bags, not just those made of conventional plastic – for more details, see Plasteurope.com of 15.01.2014.
e-Service:
House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee report on “Plastic bags” as a PDF file
Symphony, by contrast, favours the government’s position that biodegradable plastic bags be exempt from the charge, which is to be introduced in 2015, adding “the EAC has shown insufficient cause for its opposition to such treatment.” Specifically, Symphony said the committee had failed to realise that a substantial number of bags are reused and thus do not qualify as single-use bags.
The report also fails to address the problem posed by plastic bags being discarded into the open environment, Symphony said, adding that if these bags are not collected, they cannot be recycled either. This litter problem, the UK company says, is best addressed by oxo-biodegradable technology, which ensures that bags discarded into the open environment actually biodegrade. The same does not apply to compostable bags, which require special industrial composting conditions to degrade. For this reason, Symphony said, there is no point in exempting bio-based compostable bags from a charge.
Echoing this belief, the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association (London / UK; www.biodeg.org) has come out in favour of a 5p charge for an oxo-biodegradable bag with 40% recycled content, proposing all bags made of non-degradable plastic be subject to a 10p levy.
Earlier, the British Plastics Federation (BPF, London / UK; www.bpf.co.uk) came out against the proposed charge, although the federation’s opposition applied to all bags, not just those made of conventional plastic – for more details, see Plasteurope.com of 15.01.2014.
e-Service:
House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee report on “Plastic bags” as a PDF file
13.02.2014 Plasteurope.com [227532-0]
Published on 13.02.2014