Retail News CRM

Tag: Plastic Bags

  • Korea to ban single-use plastic bags

    Korea to ban single-use plastic bags

    South Korea is to ban big-time supermarkets and retailers nationwide from selling single-use plastic bags in an attempt to conserve natural resources and reduce recyclable waste. The ban will come into effect on Tuesday as part of a revised law on conserving resources and encouraging the reuse of recyclable waste. Subject to the ban are 2000 outlets of major discount chains and 11,000 supermarkets with sales floor spaces of 165sqm or more where handing out free plastic bags are currently prohibited.

    Stores that violate the ban could face fines of up to 3 million won (around US$2683). Instead, those shops are required to offer customers recyclable containers, cloth shopping bags or paper bags.

    Plastic containers for wet goods, such as meat and fish, will still be used.

    Under the revised law, 18,000 bakeries nationwide will be barred from handing out free disposable plastic bags.

    In cooperation with local governments, the Environment Ministry plans to encourage the affected stores to observe the ban from January through March.

    The ministry is also pushing ahead with a plan to reduce the use of plastic garment bags at laundry shops.

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  • Weak green tax can lead to more single-use plastic bags

    Weak green tax can lead to more single-use plastic bags

    The weight-based environmental tax can do more harm than good if businesses try to ease the burden by making and using thin plastic bags. The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has weighed in on a debate involving changes to the country’s Environmental Protection Law.

    Lawmakers are considering raising the environmental protection duty imposed on petroleum products by up to three times to VND8,000 per liter, and on plastic bags from the current VND30,000-50,000 to VND40,000-80,000 per kilogram, according to a proposal prepared by the finance ministry.

    However, the VCCI, which represents thousands of businesses across the country, said in a statement that plastic bags should be taxed individually instead of by weight.

    It said that when plastic bags are taxed based on their weight, producers are tempted to produce thin plastic bags.

    While disposable, thin bags require less material, they are unlikely to be reused and are more difficult to recycle, which means these single-use bags are more harmful to the environment than thicker bags, it said.

    “Current taxes do not go far enough to protect the environment,” it said.

    The VCCI also said taxes should also be imposed on other plastic products like Styrofoam cups and boxes.

    The environment ministry estimates that Vietnamese use more than 800 tons of plastic bags every day.

    Official figures from 2014 showed that in Ho Chi Minh City, nine million, or more than 50 tons of plastic bags, were being used every day, which was twice the number from four years earlier.

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  • Bag charge to reduce Indonesia’s plastic waste

    Bag charge to reduce Indonesia’s plastic waste

    The government has made it mandatory for retail businesses across Indonesia to charge customers 1.5 cents for each plastic bag they use.

    Supermarkets and vendors in cities across Indonesia have begun charging customers for plastic bags in a bid to reduce waste.

    The government has made it mandatory for retail businesses across Indonesia to charge customers 1.5 cents for each plastic bag they use.

    According to the Environment and Forestry Ministry, Indonesians consume up to a million plastic bags every minute.

    Indonesia is ranked the world’s second largest plastic waste producer, using more than 187 million tons each year.

    Watch the video to get more details over plastic wastw problem in Indonesia.

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  • Impose levy on use of plastic bags

    Impose levy on use of plastic bags

    The special report on plastic waste stated that the National Environment Agency collected about 920 tonnes of plastic waste from our rivers and canals last year.

    This figure does not even include the plastic waste disposed at landfills, which should be much greater in quantity.

    We must take steps to reduce the use of plastic bags. Plastic bags can take more than 1,000 years to decompose and will remain toxic after they break down.

    One of most effective ways to reduce plastic waste is to ban the distribution of free plastic bags in supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies and department stores.

    A levy should be imposed on the distribution of plastic bags.

    In 2009, Hong Kong faced an imminent waste problem. It was estimated that more than eight billion plastic bags were disposed of at landfills every year. It then imposed a levy of 50 Hong Kong cents (10 Singapore cents) per plastic bag.

    This levy drastically reduced the number of plastic bags distributed.

    According to the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department, before this levy was implemented, supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies and cosmetics stores in Hong Kong were distributing about 660 million plastic bags yearly.

    After one year, this number was drastically reduced to 150 million plastic bags.

    The levy has been so successful that the Hong Kong government last year implemented a total ban on the distribution of free plastic bags for all retail outlets.

    Nowadays, Hong Kong residents take along their own reusable bags with them when they go shopping.

    China, Taiwan and the Philippines implemented the levy for plastic bags even earlier. In Germany, very few people use plastic bags as paper bags are more environmentally friendly.

    Likewise, in Singapore, we should discourage the indiscriminate use of plastic bags by imposing a plastic bag levy.

    Initially, it may cause inconvenience but it is a small price to pay to save our precious environment.

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  • Indonesian Cities Now Charging Shoppers for Plastic Bags

    Indonesian Cities Now Charging Shoppers for Plastic Bags

    The policy is imposed on all retailers, including supermarkets, stores and vendors at traditional markets.

    Bandung is adopting a more conservative approach, charging customers the minimum Rp 200 per bag, mayor Ridwan Kamil said at the initiative’s launching ceremony in Jakarta. The world renowned architect said that by charging customers for plastic bags, the city will not only reduce waste but also generate revenue.

    “Buying plastic bags can generate Rp 1 billion a day for the city government. In a year we should have Rp 360 billion from plastic bag sales. That can be earmarked to buy dump trucks, build incinerators or a recycling plant,” he said.

    Bogor, in the outskirts of Jakarta, also demanded retailers and stores charge Rp 200 per plastic bag.

    “The government [central and local] have agreed that the lowest price for each plastic bag is Rp 200. What matters most is to reduce the use of plastic bags,” Bogor mayor Bima Arya said.

    “If we do not see a significant impact from the policy, then there might be a possibility to raise the price.”

    Roy Madey, chairman of the Indonesia Retailers Association (Aprindo), said that the association would also help the government educate the public about the negative environmental impact of plastic bags through various social media platforms and posters displayed at retail stores.

    During the public awareness campaign, retailers will subsidize each bag in order to maintain a price of Rp 200.

    “If the policy calls for the fee to go above Rp 200 per plastic bag, we are concerned that it will decrease the number of customers shopping at modern retail stores. The government has to protect every industrial sector to allow it to grow, including the retail industry,” Roy said.

    Indonesia is ranked the world’s second largest plastic waste producer, using 187.2 million tons each year according to a study published last year in the journal Science. China stands at number one, producing 262.9 million tons of plastic waste, most of which ends up in the ocean.