Government wants to tax all appliances that have a plug

The Department of Environmental Affairs is proposing a new tax on all appliances that have a plug.

Business Day reports that the Department of Environmental affairs came up with this proposal in a bid to manage the disposal of those electronic goods when they are defunct, to limit harm to the environment.

"The department is of the view that the manufacturers are producing equipment containing hazardous material and hence must take responsibility for managing the waste stream effectively," Albi Modise spokesman for the department of Environmental affairs told Business Day.

Environmental Affairs said the increasing number of electrical products found at landfill sites posed a "serious health risk to humans and significant threats to the environment"

Modise said the department is considering improvement of the management of various waste streams, of which electronic and electrical equipment is one.