REPORT SOCIO - ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED PLASTIC BAG REGULATIONS Bentley West Management Consultants Acronyms and abbreviations FRIDGE: Socio-economic impact assessment of the proposed plastic bag regulations 2 FRIDGE BOD Biological Oxygen Demand CEPPWAWU Chemical, Energy, Paper, Print and Wood Allied Workers Union CINPF Chemical Industries National Provident Fund COD Chemical Oxygen Demand CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial Research DEAT Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism DTI Department of Trade and Industry FOB Free On Board FRIDGE Fund for Research into Industrial Development Growth and Equity GDP Gross Domestic Product HDPE High Density Polyethylene ISO International Standards Organisation JSE Johannesburg Stock Exchange LCA Life Cycle Analysis LCI Life Cycle Inventory LDPE Low Density Polyethylene LLDPE Linear Low Density Polyethylene MEIBC Metal Industries Bargaining Council NEDLAC National Economic Development and Labour Council NUMSA National Union of Metal Workers South Africa PE Polyethylene PFSA Plastics Federation of South Africa SACWU South African Chemical Workers Union S.O. Bag Self Opening Bag SIC code Standard Industrial Classification Code SME Small Medium Enterprise VCB Vest type carrier bag FRIDGE: Socio-economic impact assessment of the proposed plastic bag regulations 3 FRIDGE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) has identified littering in general as a problem facing the South African environment, and has focused on the effect of indiscriminate dumping of thin plastic bags in, believing that this has contributed greatly to the problem. It is in this light that the DEAT has proposed new plastic bag regulations under Section 24 of the Environmental Conservation Act (73/1998), which were published in the Government Gazette of 19 May 2000 The aim of the regulations is to restrict the production of non-reusable plastic shopping bags and to promote re-use and recycling. In order to quantify the socio-economic impact of the proposed regulations all constituencies of Nedlacs Trade and Industry Chamber agreed that joint research should be conducted in order to develop a shared understanding of the potential socio-economic impact of the proposed regulations The research study was restricted to vest type carrier bags (VCBs), which in laymans terms can be defined to be “ thin plastic bags with handles, which are typically distributed in retail outlets”. The reason for this restricted scope of research was two-fold. It firstly reflected the urgent need for an accurate and quantified impact assessment that can contribute to the process of finalising the regulation, and secondly focussed on the product that, relative to other forms of disposable consumer plastic, is significant both in terms of the volume of production and usage. The scope of research included an assessment of the impact of the regulations on potential substitute products such as paper and cloth bags. Data was collected by means of structured interviews and completion of questionnaires within the following sectors: Polymer producers (2 companies, data obtained from both) Manufacturers of vest type carrier bags (42 companies, data obtained from 12 companies that represent 75% of VCB manufacturing) Worker representatives of manufacturers of VCBs Plastic recyclers (85 companies identified, of which two are currently recycling VCBs.) Pulp producers (2 companies identified, data obtained from both) Paper bag manufacturers (6 companies identified, data obtained from 3) Paper recyclers (4 companies identified, data obtained from 2) Cloth bag makers (3 companies identified, data obtained from 2) Retail industry (data obtained from representative sample of 390 small, medium and large retailers) Government (combined DEAT and DTI submission received) FRIDGE: Socio-economic impact assessment of the proposed plastic bag regulations 4 FRIDGE Excluded from the direct data collection exercise were the distributors of VCBs as well as the consumers of VCBs. Information about these two groups was indirectly obtained from VCB manufacturers in the case of the distributors, and retailers in the case of consumers. THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RELEVANT PRODUCTS The following products were relevant to the study: Plastic VCBs Although there is a wide range of bags made in different dimensions, the research indicated that the following types, in terms of dimensions, are predominant in use. Research sample of 34365 tonnes Type Length (mm) Width (mm) Thickness Weighted avg. thickness Weighted avg. weight per bag (g) Production (t) % of total Mini 440-460 320-330 9-15 11.8 3.11 2408 7% Handi 460-480 360-380 14-17 14.02 4.35 5641 17% Midi/Maxi 560-600 420-480 14-20 15.96 7.01 18491 55% No data provided 1 14.24 21% In terms of material characteristics these bags can be either printed, in which case they are manufactured from