Plastic bag levy goes into a black hole
Image by: LEE CELANO / REUTERS
Ten years after the government began regulating the use of plastic bags there is no certainty about where the millions of rands paid for bags have gone.
In an attempt to reduce the number of plastic bags polluting the country, the government introduced a 3c levy on recyclable bags in 2003.
Shoppers have since had to buy bags at supermarket tills or use their own.
At the time, the government said the Treasury would collect money from plastic bag manufacturers and allocate it to the creation of "green" jobs and the building of waste-disposal plants.
At first, the handling of the funds collected was outsourced to a section 21 company, Buyisa e-Bags, but a year ago the Department of Environmental Affairs took over the task amid allegations of corruption and abuse of public funds, according to department spokesman Albi Modise.
The plastic bag levy has since been increased to 4c.
Modise said that in 2009-2010 Buyisa collected about R174-million in levies.
It had established 15 plastic bag buy-back centres and supported 25 existing facilities.
But it was not possible to say how many of the 1900 to 3800 new jobs predicted had been created or how many bags had been recycled, he said.
"Currently, there is no obligation on the recycling industry to report on numbers of bags recycled. This will be rectified with the implementation of the Waste Act and its waste-information regulations," Modise said.
Retailers, too, are in the dark about where the money has gone.
Mike Prentice, marketing executive of Spar, said: "What the government is doing [with the money], to be honest with you, we don't know."
Depending on the region and the competition, bags cost consumers about 40c each.
"The problem is that it is our cost; we make nothing on the selling of these plastic bags. They cost us more than we sell them for."
Pick n Pay spokesman Jennifer Crocker said: "We contribute to the plastic bag levy but we have not had any updated information from the government regarding how this levy is spent, or of the establishment of recycling plants."
Annabé Pretorius, of the SA Plastics Recycling Organisation, said the government had not told the industry what it used the levy for: "In its books it is an environmental levy and can be used as fiscal income."
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Posted 116 days agoWiseguy
RSA.MommaCyndi
buddi
Posted 116 days agoThe supermarket staff are so anxious for customers to use as many bags as possible, that I often have to stop them, and even go to the trouble of recouping my 38c much to the irritation of the till staff, and the queue behind me!
sistachick
Posted 116 days agoWiseguy
RedCoat
i_stub_born
Mzungu
Posted 116 days agoAt least I don't contribute to the stealing of this money, because I don't contribute to somebody's Merc or BMW.
It is like not paying taxes, you see ! Makes me happy.
Note: same applies to the ridiculous charging for parking space at shopping centres. I never pay because I restrict my presence to the free time allocated. Added together makes also some nice money per year to spend on something else (not bags of course)
buddi
Lungig2102
Mzungu
do whatever you find right but DON'T FEED THE THIEVES that steal that money. It is the right thing to do as a good citizen.
Also find other ways, in order not to feed those jokers...any Rand cent you save for yourself, doesn't go into their filthy pockets.
Mike123
Posted 116 days agoMzungu
and off to hell we go...
i_stub_born
shelatt
The Corruption party does not care a hoot for these people, and here is the proof. The salary bill for the two hundred odd (mostly corrupt) ministers et al runs into the hundreds of millions each year. They do not EARN this, they TAKE it for the least amount of work. How is it possible that Zuma (and his wives) earns more than Obama, the most powerful leader in the world....Come on you moronic Corruption supporters, make me understand why he deserves it. And what's the president of our country doing being a member or director of an untold number of companies and CC's. Does he not receive enough to stave off hunger and misery? It’s absolutely disgusting that he can take in all this money from the tax payers while the poor and indigent (who by the way helped him get voted in) suffer interminably. In fact to put it more succinctly , any politician who has ever indulged in the splurging of taxpayers’ money on self-indulgent pursuits is a disgusting lump of putrid faeces who should be stripped of everything they own and forced to live in a squatter shack for the rest of their lives. Wow, I’ve just realised the whole cabinet of Corruption will have to be moved to what would become the most well known squatter camp in the world....!!!
So you see dumb asses, by voting for these a-holes you are allowing the rape to continue. Having said this I realise there are certain people who HAVE to vote for the Corrupt....those that are already entwined in the quagmire that has been formed over the last few years and who rely on the largesse bestowed on them for playing the money and power game of the untouchables! Are YOU one of those leeches sucking up to the top six????
Now, one of the (unintelligent) arguments over “ who else to vote for...” can be solved right here...If you want to be guaranteed things like service delivery, a decent life for all, top class education among many others, all you need do is threaten the Corrupt with a loss of power. That’s all, just let their majority in parliamentary drop below 60% and watch the change happen instantly!!! Make them realise that power can be removed at the cross of a pen. At the next election arrange with groups of people you associate with to vote for various smaller parties like the ACDP etc so that not one party becomes too dominant. The worst thing you can do is to NOT vote. It is construed as voter apathy and not anti ANCorruption.
Another thought to ponder....What could be so wrong with giving another party just 4 years to prove itself? The Corruption party has taken nearly 20 years to fix poverty with negative results (more poor now than before 1994)and not forgetting losing 30 billion bucks per year to fraud and corruption!!
In just 4 years you can just as easily vote them out if you are not satisfied...simple! Realistically the only party who could make the changes you want is the DA, considering they have a fairly good track record in the Cape....I do also believe that most politicians lie and steal but as long as we have press freedom and involved citizens we can keep it in check.
Go on, give them 4 years, (it’s not a lifetime) and let’s see what they can do!!!!