Bag Charge is Unjustified, says BPF
Thursday, 5 June 2014
The British Plastics Federation has reacted strongly to the announcement of a 5p charge on plastic bags embodied in today's Queen's speech.
Philip Law, the BPF's Director General Designate, said that the charge was "discriminatory and anti-competitive in the way that it singled out plastic bags. It is crucial to maintain a level playing field between products made from different materials. The charge will artificially distort markets and sets a very unwelcome precedent ".
The BPF believes that government has not taken into account it's own research on the comparative life cycles of bags made from different materials which portrayed plastic bags in a favourable light. It has also ignored the very high levels of re-use of plastic bags. DEFRA's own figures show re-usage rates in the 60-70 per cent range and a recent German study revealed that in a sample of 1006 people, 72 per cent were re-using carrier bags and of those 85 per cent were re-using them three times on average with the final use often as a waste bag.
Law said that, "in the face of such evidence the government needs to be very specific as to which precise environmental benefits are likely to flow from a charge. Plastic bags constitute a very tiny proportion of waste.The precise effect on litter should be stated and other environmental impacts documented in order to avoid spurious measures based on over-generalised foundations".
One consolation for the plastics industry ,said Law, is that increased value has been accorded to what is in reality a high performance product.
ENDS
For all media enquiries, BPF logos and images please contact [email protected] or 0207 457 5000
Notes for editors:
The British Plastics Federation (BPF) is the UK trade association for the plastics industry – representing the whole supply chain including polymer producers, distributors, additives suppliers, machinery manufacturers, processors and recyclers.
Philip Law, the BPF's Director General Designate, said that the charge was "discriminatory and anti-competitive in the way that it singled out plastic bags. It is crucial to maintain a level playing field between products made from different materials. The charge will artificially distort markets and sets a very unwelcome precedent ".
The BPF believes that government has not taken into account it's own research on the comparative life cycles of bags made from different materials which portrayed plastic bags in a favourable light. It has also ignored the very high levels of re-use of plastic bags. DEFRA's own figures show re-usage rates in the 60-70 per cent range and a recent German study revealed that in a sample of 1006 people, 72 per cent were re-using carrier bags and of those 85 per cent were re-using them three times on average with the final use often as a waste bag.
Law said that, "in the face of such evidence the government needs to be very specific as to which precise environmental benefits are likely to flow from a charge. Plastic bags constitute a very tiny proportion of waste.The precise effect on litter should be stated and other environmental impacts documented in order to avoid spurious measures based on over-generalised foundations".
One consolation for the plastics industry ,said Law, is that increased value has been accorded to what is in reality a high performance product.
ENDS
For all media enquiries, BPF logos and images please contact [email protected] or 0207 457 5000
Notes for editors:
The British Plastics Federation (BPF) is the UK trade association for the plastics industry – representing the whole supply chain including polymer producers, distributors, additives suppliers, machinery manufacturers, processors and recyclers.
