Agreement to charge NIS 0.30 for plastic bags

Israelis consume 2.2 billion plastic bags a year making them an environmental hazard.

Following marathon discussions about the details of the bill for countering the use of plastic bags, understandings were reached on the price for the consumer: Minister of the Economy Naftali Bennett and Minister of the Environment Amir Peretz agreed to charge NIS 0.30 on each plastic bag. The price will drop to NIS 0.20 after two years and NIS 0.10 after four years. Bennett will now withdraw his appeal to the ministerial legislative committee against the bill.

The bill itself requires consumers to pay the price for each bag, while the marketing chains will distribute reusable baskets to the public free of charge for a limited period. The marketing chains will not be allowed to sell a plastic bag for less than the stipulated amount, some of which will be used to aid plastic bag manufacturers. It is being claimed in the bag manufacturers' forum that the bill will harm the local plastic bag industry, and will not necessarily benefit the environment, as is usually asserted.

Bennett said, "There is no disagreement about the bag bill's importance, but we demanded that it be implemented without disproportionate harm to the consumer. In the agreement we reached with the Environmental Protection Minister, the amount charged was reduced to NIS 0.10, as we demanded in our appeal. I believe that in any decision we make as a government and as legislators, reducing the cost of living should be a consideration, and I acted accordingly."

Peretz said, "The use of plastic bags has become a hazardous and polluting addiction. The entire cabinet is now united in eliminating bag pollution and putting Israel in the forefront of the most advanced countries in this sphere. I am not insensitive to the claims of the bag manufacturers in Israel, and I'll make sure they are compensated for the damage caused them. They will be part of the answer in the new market created."

Ministry of Environmental Protection figures show that an average Israeli consumes 275 plastic bags a year, and Israel consumes 2.2 billion plastic bags a year.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 7, 2014

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014

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