THE PLASTIC BAG DILEMMA
As South Africans, we are all too familiar with the sight of
plastic bags flapping along the fences lining our national roads,
littering school yards, polluting rivers. The Minister of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Valli Moosa, has called them,
ironically, South Africa's national flower.
In order to try to cut down on the number of non reusable, non
recyclable plastic bags in circulation, Government drafted
regulations prescribing how thick plastic bags should be. The
regulations are aimed at increasing the prescribed thickness of
plastic bags over a period of time, making them recyclable and
reusable, and phasing out the thin plastic bag.
Nedlac's Trade and Industry chamber have held discussions on the
draft regulations, which were published for public comment by the
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) in May last
year.
It's an issue that has attracted a lot of public attention, with
government receiving almost 100 written submissions on the draft
regulations. Public hearings by the Parliamentary Portfolio
Committee for the Environment in October resulted in further oral
submissions.
Whilst all the Nedlac parties agree that that plastics litter is
of national concern and an issue requiring urgent attention,
business and labour have expressed reservations about whether
government's proposals represent the most effective way of
addressing the plastics waste issue.
Business has confirmed their support for mechanisms to address
the problem of plastic bags in the environment, but have raised
concerns about the potentially negative economic impact of the
proposed regulations. Labour has concerns about the impact on
employment of government's proposals.
The Chamber decided to establish a small task team to evaluate
the impact of the proposed regulations on employment and investment
in the sector and the other market distortions that might
result.
All parties committed themselves to constructive engagement with
the objective of completing the evaluation as soon as possible.