Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Singapore
•Forapopulationof
ive million people,
Singapore uses a
staggering amount of
three billion plastic
bags a year [40]
•Inanefforttoreducethecountry's
plastic waste, the Singapore
Environmental Council (SEC)
recently conducted a survey of 2,500
Singaporeans and permanent residents
aged 15 years old and above from
various households to gauge the
country's consumer behaviour and
attitudes on plastic and reusable bags.
They concluded that there are disparate
views on the issue stemming from
economic to personal interests, and
coming up with viable solutions
requires all sectors of society - the
government, retailers, and the public
- to engage in a national discourse,
especially on developing greener mind-
sets and behaviour. The Government
launched a public information
campaign to discourage the use of
plastic bags
•SECplanstostartanoutreach
and education campaign
in 2014
South Africa
•Beforeintroductionof
the policy instruments,
the plastic bag littering
problem in South
Africa was so grave
that the bags had come
to be known as the
new national lowers
competing with the
true national lower,
the protea
•About8billionplastic
bags were consumed
annually in South
Africa and of this large
retailers account for
2.6 billion and smaller
retailers the balance
•Charges:Achargeisimposedonthe
use of plastic bags, as a result of many
getting caught up in trees and fences
•Minimumthicknessstandard:Thereis
a ban on the manufacture, trade and
commercial distribution of plastic bags
made of plastic ilm for use and having
a wall thickness of less than 30 μm
•Plasticbagsattractalevyof10Rand
($US 1.7) per kg. The levy is targeted
at the manufacturers who are expected
to pass it on to the consumers. The
revenue collected is targeted to be used
for other environmental projects, and
for the establishment of a plastic bag
recycling company
•Alegalinstrumentprovidingpenalties
for non-compliance., i.e., any violator
is made liable to: (1) a ine of 100,000
Rand or (2) imprisonment for a period
of up to 10 years, (3) or both, and (4)
a ine not exceeding three times the
commercial value of goods to which the
offence was linked
•Beforetheregulation,thecost
of plastic bags was hidden
in food prices, thus, even if
consumers did not get a bag,
they were still made to pay for
it. With more transparency
and consumers now given the
choice of buying a bag or not,
it is reported that consumers
have beneited from lower food
prices
•Theregulationcominginto
force resulted in a drop in
wasteful consumption of bags,
especially in stores where bags
were charged for
•Theregulationalsoimproved
public understanding as the
negotiations were given wide
coverage in the national and
international media. Although
this was not intentional, it
reportedly contributed to
increased environmental
awareness and a signiicant
reduction in proligate
consumption of bags
