Should Czech retailers be forced to charge for plastic bags?
Plastic bags are one of the most visible symbols of the post-Communist Czech consumer society. The disposal bags are just that – discarded and littering the capital and countryside alike. Czech Environment Minister Martin Bursík has now vowed to act. In today’s Talking Point we explore the arguments that have erupted between the minister and retailers.
“This really is a disease which is an expression of our consumer way of life and a very tricky game of the chains which are offering these free of charge so it is in fact increasing willingness of the consumers to buy. It is something which is very much connected to the consumer way of life. And the trick is to support the volume of the goods which people are buying.”
That step has been attacked by some of the country’s biggest stores. Hypernova is one of the three major supermarket chains still giving out free plastic bags. The others are Tesco and Globus. Hypernova spokesman Libor Kytýr, maintains that all it is doing is meeting a deep rooted demand from Czech shoppers.
“For example, in our Hypernova stores, customers are used to having plastic bags for free.”
Inspiration for Mr. Bursík’s proposal to rule out free bags comes from a landmark environmental decision by Ireland in 2002 to impose a charge on all plastic bags. The Irish measure has been a spectacular success. Usage of disposable plastic shopping bags has been cut by 93 percent compared with pre-charge levels and the litter scourge that the bags represented has been sharply reduced. But the minister also points out that he was forced to opt for legislation when the ministry and stores were unable to agree on a meaningful voluntary agreement that would deliver the same results.
“So by the time it was evident that the voluntary agreement would not cover the whole market, we decided to stop these negotiations and leave it to other topics which we want to discuss with the business, and simply do it in exactly the same way as it was done in Ireland. It is important to mention that this political decision in Ireland in a very short time got the strong support of the public at the level of 91 percent of the population. I have been receiving tens of e-mails every day with the support of the public for the principles we provided.”
One key difference between the Czech proposal and the existing Irish measure is that cash raised from the Irish charge is pumped back into environmental projects covering waste management and recycling. As Bursík explains, he has no such ambitions to turn the plastic bag charges into a cash cow and has sidestepped stating what the minimum charge could be.
“What we want is that people will stop using these one use plastic bags which are not necessary and which damage the environment and which are hard to liquidate by the end of the cycle. And this was our purpose. Our purpose is not that people pay but our purpose is that people do not use them.”
Mr. Kytýr describes Dutch parent company Ahold as an environmentally conscious firm. It has, for example, taken steps to get rid of toxic PVC packaging on its own label goods and is pressuring suppliers to follow suit. He says the proposed charge is a blunt and ill adapted tool. And he suggests stores can play a role by guiding shoppers into being more environmentally conscious once they have unloaded the shopping.
From this point of view, he argues that Czechs have already proved their capacity to recycle waste and plastic bags can become a bigger part of that process.
Tesco, which refused to be interviewed, takes a similar line. It says it has tried to encourage shoppers to buy stronger jute bags and check-out staff are encouraged to be mean when doling out free disposable bags.
And Hypernova’s Mr. Kytýr raises a more fundamental question about the proposed charges and the claims they will cut the overall number of plastic bags in circulation. He says many customers re-use the free plastic bags as bin liners and will buy these instead if forced to pay for shopping bags.
“Our customers use these bags distributed for free for waste basically. So we assume that if we stop distributing these bags they may use more plastic bags for waste. So they will buy more of these bags.”
The much cited Irish example tends to support this point. Its Ministry of Environment admits many Irish shoppers started to buy bin bags when the shopping bag charge came into effect. And, in fact, the overall amount of plastic waste being dumped in landfill sites has not gone down.
But Bursík rejects this argument. He says Czech use of bin bags should in any case dramatically fall thanks to parallel proposals from his ministry for cash incentives for households which sort and recycle their waste.
Both sides claim public support for their stand. At the optimistically entitled Eden shopping centre opposite the suburban Prague headquarters of the environment ministry, some morning shoppers had mixed views.
One middle aged man said the proposal should be used as a last resort:
“There are two things. Either you bring people into line over recycling plastic bags. If you cannot do that, then the proposal would not be that bad.”
“First of all, it’s advantageous when I go shopping because I do not have anything else on me. But I am aware that they damage the environment. I agree with those saying they should not exist.”
Mr. Bursík counts on public pressure forcing retailers to drop their opposition to charges and fall into line with his demands long before his waste law should take effect in 2011.
“My feeling is that we will solve this problem before the act will be valid in 2011 because four chains are selling bags already. There are another three which, I think, under public debate will change their behaviour. I really think this. This is a topic where the concentration of the media and public has been rather high. We were expecting this because this is a sensitive issue.”
But however much they might be under the spotlight, the reluctant retailers are less certain that he has this particular proposal in the bag.
