Bag the Bag (Plastic)

New law will reduce plastic bag use

An IUED-drafted legislative bill aimed at reducing consumer reliance on plastic bags is in its First Reading in the Knesset. The ‘plastic bags bill’ is the culmination of IUED’s initiative over the last year and a half, when it began pushing the government to follow the growing global trend to ban or discourage plastic bag use because of the environmental ramifications.

·         Israeli stores and supermarkets give away about 430 million plastic bags every month ·         Plastic bags constitute some 28 percent of discarded garbage in Israel by volume, and 7 percent by weight ·         Between 4 and 5 trillion non-degradable plastic bags are used worldwide annually ·         Production of 100 million non-degradable plastic bags requires some 430,000 gallons of oil

To spur government action on the issue, IUED formed a coalition of NGOs as a pressure group and provided stakeholders and the Environmental Protection Ministry with scientific and economic data to support the call for reducing plastic bag use.

The proposed law, advancing in the Knesset as a private members’ bill, provides incentives to consumers to reduce their use of plastic bags in the form of a levy of one shekel (roughly 25 US cents) for every plastic bag taken at supermarkets, to be shown as a separate item on their receipt. Taking into account Israelis’ preference for fresh produce, this levy will not pertain to bags containing fish, meat, poultry or dairy products.

For the six months following the bill's enactment, the government will subsidize the sale of reusable bags as an incentive to create public awareness of the issue.

The continuously rising dependence on free plastic bags – that are often used for minutes only, or reused once at best –  represents a massive waste of natural resources.

Bags harm flora, fauna and humans

The ubiquitous bags are a major blight on the country's urban and rural landscape, and a hazard to both public health and wildlife. Untold numbers of birds and small mammals have been suffocated by carelessly discarded plastic bags. The plastic covers plants, impeding natural exchange of gasses and adversely affecting agricultural yields.

Improperly discarded plastic bags also make their way to rivers and oceans where they choke and kill wildlife. Dozens of dolphins have died from plastic tossed into the Red Sea, and an autopsy report on a whale recently washed up on an Israeli beach indicated that it was killed by 4.5 kilograms of plastic bags wrapped inside its belly.

How do we dispose of plastic bags?

The 5 billion ‘thin’ plastic bags (average width 17 microns) distributed every year are not recycled in Israel. Plastic bags in our garbage bins go to landfills where they remain indefinitely. Most plastic shopping bags are composed of polyethylene, a thermoplastic by-product of oil. Polyethylene is practically indestructible: it photodegrades, slowly breaking down into smaller, more toxic petro-polymers that eventually contaminate soils and waterways, and microscopic particles also enter the food chain. Incineration of plastic bags is not an option because burning plastic releases dangerous pollutants into the atmosphere that jeopardize public health. The life expectancy of plastic bags is therefore measured in hundreds of years.

Is there an alternative?

IUED recommends a return to cloth bags or baskets. Paper bags are not a viable alternative due to the polluting production process, destruction of trees and few options to recycle. But we can all drastically consumption of single-use bags, in favor of reusable bags. Retail outlets are already gearing up to the switchover by selling ‘green’ recyclable bags at the checkout, and there is evidence of consumer readiness to end the love affair with the free plastic bag.

Learning from other countries

IUED, together with students from Tel Aviv University's Department of Political Science, developed the plastic bags bill after examining various approaches put into practice around the world -- in particular the model incorporated by the Republic of Ireland under which a levy imposed on consumers when acquiring plastic bags is passed on to a designated clean-up fund. Ireland registered a decrease of over 90 percent in plastic bag consumption within a year of the law's introduction. I

n many European countries, multi-use bags are sold at a token price in shopping outlets. In Britain, an effective public information campaign urges the public to use them less frequently. Many other countries, notably Australia, Denmark, Italy and India, have registered a significant decrease in plastic bag consumption following government intervention in recent years. Bangladesh banned the use of plastic bags after the country's sewers became blocked, while Tanzania, Rwanda, Taiwan and Singapore have made it illegal to give away plastic bags for free.

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