John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 625: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the United Kingdom cited an increase in the purchase of plastic bin liners as a reason not to levy a plastic bag tax in that country; if his further attention has been drawn to the increase in the purchase of such plastic products since the introduction of the tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30349/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The 15 cent levy on plastic bags, as provided for in the Waste Management (Environmental Levy) (Plastic Bag) Regulations 2001, which took effect on 4 March 2002, applies to all plastic bags supplied to customers at the point of sale to them for the conveyance of goods or products. Prior to the introduction of the levy, an estimated 1.2 billion disposable plastic shopping bags, the majority of which were imported, were given away free by retailers. The levy has led to a dramatic reduction in their consumption with a consequent positive environmental benefit.

An Irish manufacturer of plastic bin liners has been quoted as stating that its sales have increased substantially since the introduction of the levy. This would have been expected, as plastic shopping bags would have had an obvious subsidiary use in the domestic bin. The point of the levy, however, was to change consumer behaviour which was contributing to a visible litter problem. This objective has been achieved. The most recent survey data available from the national litter pollution monitoring system shows that in 2004 plastic bags constituted approximately 0.22% of litter pollution nationally, compared with an estimated 5% prior to the introduction of the levy.