Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Ireland
•Beingacountryofhigh
winds and hedgerows,
plastic bags released
in the environment
easily travelled long
distances and often
attached themselves to
hedges and trees. This
unsightly scene became
more prominent
during winter when
deciduous trees shed
their leaves
•Alevyof€0.15 was introduced on all
plastic bags including biodegradable
bags targeting shoppers at the point
of sale in retail outlets. Exceptions are
made to plastic bags used to contain
fresh produce and re-usable ones worth
over €0.70. Retailers are legally obliged
to pass on the levy directly and itemise
it on the consumers' receipt
•Therevenuesfromthetaxare'ring
fenced' in the environment fund for
use in various environmental projects,
including: (1) covering the costs of
administration of the tax itself, (2)
support programmes and R&D for
the prevention or reduction of waste,
(3) promoting the development of
products that are less environmentally
harmful, (4) aiding producer-initiatives
in designed processes and products that
prevent or reduce waste generation,
(5) assisting in the enforcement of
by-laws related to waste management,
litter prevention or protection of
the environment in general, and (6)
promoting environmental awareness,
education and training
•About1.2billionplasticbags
were used annually in Ireland
prior to the levy. The levy
resulted in a 90% decrease in
the use of disposable plastic
bags and has generated close
to €20 million to date. In
2003, plastic bags accounted
for only 0.3% of the country's
litter stream compared to 5%
before the introduction of the
levy. Retailers found the effects
on their business to be either
neutral or positive
•Theadditionalcostsof
implementation in the form
of bookkeeping were low and
generally less than the savings
from not having to purchase
bags. In addition, revenue
collection and reporting is
easily integrated with their
VAT collection systems
•Overall,householdswere
very much in favour of the
levy. The majority felt that the
impact of the levy in terms of
convenience at checkouts was
negligible but that the levy had
added to their expenses as they
have either to pay the levy or
buy reusable bags
•Priortothelevy,therewere
four plastic manufacturing
irms operating in the country.
One of these, with an annual
turnover of €2.54 million and
employing 26 persons, has
gone out of business after the
levy. There is uncertainty as to
whether this was a direct result
of the levy
•Thecoststothegovernment
are low, and projections
indicate that an estimated
€10-11 million per year can
be collected in revenues from
the tax
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