Bans On Bags, Other Plastics Disposables Expand In Asia

Disposable plastic bags, food containers, and tableware are under fire in Asia. Driving restrictions and even bans of these products are regulators and environmental activists who seek to reduce pollution and waste-disposal problems. The immediate results, however, have been the loss of industry jobs and an exodus of processors.

Countries that have banned or limited the use of plastics disposables include India, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. In Singapore, retailers are discouraging shoppers from using plastic bags.

Taiwan is the latest country to enact or propose restrictions. The country’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has placed bans on disposable tableware, including polystyrene foam containers, and plastic bags. The EPA estimates that plastics account for about 20% of household waste, 5% higher than in other industrialized countries.

First hit were shopping bags, which have been banned since last July 1 at government-run and affiliated facilities, public and private schools, and public hospitals. The ban was extended to supermarkets and department stores on Jan. 1, although stores are allowed to provide plastic bags that are 60 micron or thicker for a fee. The ban does not apply to street markets, food stands, and fresh-food packaging. Taiwan consumed an estimated 16 million shopping bags per day before the legislation.

Similarly, disposable plastic cups, utensils, and tableware, including foam PS food packaging, were banned at government-affiliated establishments, hospitals, and schools last Oct. 1, and the ban was extended to supermarkets and department stores on Jan. 1. The ban does not include cup and bowl lids.

The regulations have forced 100 processors out of business, according to the Taiwan Plastics Industry Association (TPIA), in Taipei. Some businesses plan to move to China and Southeast Asia, says a TPIA spokesman. Despite the fact that supermarkets and department stores can carry 60-micron or thicker bags, the TPIA says most retailers plan to switch to paper bags with enhanced water resistance.

TPIA secretary general Hsieh Sheng-hai was quoted in the Taiwan press as saying that even after numerous negotiations with the EPA, the group failed to persuade the agency to hold off implementation of the policy. Hsieh said the policy will hurt the plastics industry and leave many without jobs. “The government’s lack of planning in its policy-making will force producers to close factories and move to other countries,” he exclaimed.

The TPIA values the industry’s annual production at between NT$20 billion and $30 billion (US$573 million and $860 million). The EPA said the new policy is expected to affect 30% of sales across the industry. EPA administrator Hau Lung-bin said the reason the government is pushing this policy is that it wants to wean consumers’ appetite for plastics disposables. Hau said that non-biodegradable, disposable products pose a serious pollution problem.

Some cities in India have tried to ban plastic bags with limited success. The latest attempt was by the government of Kerala, which implemented a ban last Nov. 1. While activists welcome the ban, processors and some consumers oppose it, saying that an awareness campaign would stop careless disposal of bags. The Kerala State Small Industries Association notes that previously, the authorities imposed a similar ban on plastic bags below 20 micron, but it could not be enforced due to the influx of low-quality bags from other regions.

Bangladesh environmental group ESDO has achieved its long-time goal of a ban on all polyethylene shopping bags in the country. The speed at which the law was enacted — one month after the bill was introduced last March 30 — and the fact that it was passed unanimously, indicated the importance of the issue among legislators. The law took effect last December, and it is expected that by the Bengali New Year (April 14), Bangladesh will be free of PE shopping bags.

The ban applies to the production, import, marketing, sale, display, storage, distribution, and carrying of the bags, and there are strict penalties for violators. Those who commit an infraction face fines and even imprisonment.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, 11 retail stores have started a program to discourage the use of plastic bags. An estimated 1 million plastic bags are handed out daily. Elsewhere, the government of Bhutan banned plastic bags in 1999.