Text file: 9177.txt
author: BarbaraS
downvotes: 4
end consideration date: 2018-05-28
id: '9177'
number comments: 5
number views: 2230
proposal type: Competent authority response
response: "Response from the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning\nThe\
  \ Ministry of Finance is responsible for taxation. Packaging from the Citizen's\
  \ Proposal is already subject to an environmental levy, which is a revenue of the\
  \ budget (indivisibility of the budget).\nSlovenia is working hard to reduce the\
  \ use of plastic carrier bags. The Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning\
  \ (MOP) summarised the following activities:\n A national target has been set to\
  \ reduce the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags (i.e. those with a\
  \ wall thickness of 49 microns or less): by the end of 2019, their annual consumption\
  \ should not exceed 90 pieces/person and by the end of 2025, it should not exceed\
  \ 40 pieces/person; as of 1 January 2018, a register of all producers and acquirers/importers\
  \ of plastic carrier bags has been introduced (managed by the Financial Administration\
  \ of the Republic of Slovenia - FURS); as of 1 January 2018, a new register of all\
  \ producers and acquirers/importers of plastic carrier bags has been introduced.Quarterly\
  \ reporting by producers and acquirers of plastic carrier bags on the number of\
  \ bags placed on the market (reported to FURS); as of 1 January 2018, the threshold\
  \ of 15,000 kg of packaging/year on the market, below which no packaging waste management\
  \ charges are payable, has been abolished for producers and acquirers of plastic\
  \ carrier bags; as of 1 January 2018, the threshold of 15,000 kg of packaging/year\
  \ on the market has been abolished for producers and acquirers of packaging waste.\
  \ This means that all producers and collectors/importers of plastic carrier bags\
  \ pay packaging waste management costs (they pay a packaging fee to one of six packaging\
  \ waste management companies); as of 1 January 2018, the threshold of 15.This means\
  \ that all producers and acquirers/importers of plastic carrier bags pay the environmental\
  \ levy; as from 1 January 2019, plastic carrier bags will not be allowed to be made\
  \ available free of charge to consumers at any point of sale. An exception to this\
  \ rule will only apply to very lightweight plastic carrier bags thinner than 15\
  \ microns (bag wall thickness of 14 microns or less) when made available to consumers\
  \ for fresh unpackaged food. This contributes to reducing food waste. It will be\
  \ up to each retailer to decide whether or not to claim this exemption: as from\
  \ 1 January 2018, retailers must keep a record of the very light plastic carrier\
  \ bags (i.e. those with a wall thickness of 14 microns or less) labelled by their\
  \ manufacturer as suitable for food contact when they offer them to consumers as\
  \ carrier bags for pre-packaged food or non-food products. They will have to report\
  \ the number of such bags sold to the Ministry once a year (for the first time by\
  \ 31 March 2019 for 2018). If such bags are offered to consumers for non-packaged\
  \ fresh food, sellers are not obliged to keep records and report; awareness-raising\
  \ activities *. However, the website provides information on the campaigns carried\
  \ out in 2016 and 2017.\nThe Ministry is planning further activities:\n the preparation\
  \ of materials for teachers with content on waste prevention, with a focus on reducing\
  \ the consumption of plastic carrier bags, which will be available on the website\
  \ (expected already for the 2018/19 school year); after the end of the 2018 reporting\
  \ period (in the second half of 2019), evaluation of the results of the first target\
  \ for the reduction of the consumption of plastic carrier bags: in case the targets\
  \ are not met, the MoE will proceed with the preparation of technical bases for\
  \ the implementation of additional measures (e.g. e.g. e. (e.g. raising the environmental\
  \ levy, setting a minimum price, banning free very light plastic carrier bags for\
  \ fresh unpackaged food, etc.).\nIn any measure to reduce the consumption of certain\
  \ products, the focus should be on actually reducing the consumption of such products\
  \ (e.g. reusing the same bag several times), rather than simply replacing products\
  \ made of a certain material with products made of another material (e.g. replacing\
  \ plastic carrier bags with reusable carrier bags made of other materials), while\
  \ the consumption of these products as a whole is not reduced, or even increased,\
  \ because the products made of these other materials are less durable than the products\
  \ the consumption of which is sought to be reduced.\nIt is often not considered\
  \ that the production of any product uses natural resources and that every product,\
  \ regardless of the material from which it is made, has an environmental impact,\
  \ so when planning measures to reduce the consumption of a particular group of products,\
  \ it is necessary to take into account their entire life cycle and the environmental\
  \ impact of such products at all stages (design, production, transport, consumption,\
  \ waste), compared with the alternatives that exist on the market at any given time.\n\
  \ * In recent years, there have been frequent requests, proposals and initiatives\
  \ to ban or severely restrict the placing on the market of certain products in order\
  \ to address environmental litter problems. From an environmental point of view,\
  \ banning products from the market is one of the last measures to prevent and reduce\
  \ environmental pollution. Any ban on the placing on the market of certain products\
  \ has the effect of diverting consumers to other products available on the market\
  \ at the time of the ban. It is therefore important that other measures, such as\
  \ consumer awareness raising, are planned and implemented before such a ban is put\
  \ into effect. The ban should be based on a full life-cycle analysis, which examines\
  \ the environmental impacts of the substances and materials used to produce the\
  \ products that are the subject of the planned ban and of alternative products that\
  \ are on the market or could appear on the market as a substitute for the banned\
  \ products. This should take into account all stages of a product, from its design,\
  \ production, distribution, consumption and use, including its durability and reusability,\
  \ to the stage at which it becomes waste and the possibilities for recycling or\
  \ other recovery operations. However, the State can also encourage producers to\
  \ use more environmentally acceptable materials through other measures, such as\
  \ the introduction of appropriate economic instruments, and consumer awareness-raising\
  \ is of paramount importance.\nOne such economic instrument is the environmental\
  \ levy, which is payable by packagers and acquirers of packaged goods and by producers\
  \ and acquirers of service packaging (packaging that is filled at the point of sale)\
  \ when the packaging is first placed on the market. The basis for the environmental\
  \ levy is the unit of environmental burden of packaging waste per kilogram of packaging.\
  \ The unit of burden for packaging made of biodegradable materials is ten times\
  \ lower than the unit of burden for packaging made of non-biodegradable materials\
  \ and three thousand times lower than the unit of burden for PVC packaging. The\
  \ amendment to the Regulation on the environmental charge for environmental pollution\
  \ caused by packaging waste, adopted at the end of 2017, abolished the threshold\
  \ of 15 t of packaging put on the market annually below which producers and acquirers\
  \ of plastic carrier bags were exempt from the environmental charge as of this year.\n\
  The Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, in cooperation with the Ministry\
  \ of Education, Science and Sport, the Education Institute of the Republic of Slovenia,\
  \ retailers, NGOs and associations, and two chambers of commerce, is working on\
  \ a campaign on the harmful impact of lightweight plastic carrier bags on the environment.\
  \ The objectives of the campaign are to raise awareness of the problem and the consequences\
  \ of pollution and environmental pollution caused by light plastic carrier bags,\
  \ to encourage a sustainable reduction in the consumption of light plastic carrier\
  \ bags, and to achieve the environmental objective of reducing the consumption of\
  \ light plastic carrier bags. This is to highlight the importance of waste prevention,\
  \ which includes measures to reduce waste (reuse of products and prolonging their\
  \ lifetime) and to reduce the harmful effects of the waste generated on the environment\
  \ and human health. The campaign will be targeted at the general public, with a\
  \ focus on children's education. We ran short awareness-raising \"spots\" on Radio\
  \ 1 between March and May - Let's reduce the use of plastic bags.\nDuring this time,\
  \ no other new measures were taken at national level to reduce plastic. We believe\
  \ that measures to ban or restrict the placing of certain products on the Slovenian\
  \ market alone would not be effective, due to its small size, geographical location\
  \ and good transport links with neighbouring countries, and we have always advocated\
  \ measures coordinated at EU level. Bans that apply in a single country are less\
  \ effective than bans adopted at EU level, since the placing of products on the\
  \ market is regulated on the basis of the rules on the internal market and the associated\
  \ free movement of goods, and on the basis of rules on the prevention of barriers\
  \ to trade and distortions and restrictions of competition.\nIn January this year,\
  \ the European Commission published the first EU-wide plastics strategy, which is\
  \ also part of the transition to a more circular economy. The strategy focuses on\
  \ protecting the environment from plastic pollution while stimulating growth and\
  \ innovation, and will translate challenges into positive actions for Europe's future.\
  \ Transforming the way products are designed, manufactured, used and recycled in\
  \ the EU has huge business potential and taking the lead in this transition will\
  \ create new opportunities for investment and jobs. Under the new plans, by 2030\
  \ all plastic packaging on the EU market will be recyclable, the consumption of\
  \ single-use plastics will be reduced and the deliberate use of microplastics will\
  \ be limited. Building on this strategy, the European Commission adopted at the\
  \ end of May a proposal for a Directive to reduce the environmental impact of certain\
  \ single-use plastic products. The proposal brings new EU rules for the ten single-use\
  \ plastic products most commonly found on Europe's beaches and seas, as well as\
  \ for lost and discarded fishing gear, which together account for 70% of the items\
  \ most commonly found in marine litter. Plastic waste is the most commonly found\
  \ on beaches. Plastic-containing waste is the most commonly found waste on beaches:,\
  \ which come from food containers, drinking cups, cotton buds, cutlery, plates,\
  \ stir sticks, straws, balloon sticks and balloons, wraps and wrappers, beverage\
  \ containers, their caps and stoppers (beverage bottles), filters for tobacco products,\
  \ hygiene products (wet wipes, sanitary towels), light plastic carrier bags and\
  \ fishing gear, and therefore the proposed measures concern in particular these\
  \ products. Fishing gear is included in the proposal for a Directive, even though\
  \ it is not a single-use plastic, but this equipment includes many elements made\
  \ of such plastics. The measures proposed by the Commission concern reduction of\
  \ consumption, restriction of placing on the market (only for products for which\
  \ there are already alternatives), product design and labelling, extended producer\
  \ responsibility, separate collection of waste and awareness-raising among consumers.\
  \ In addition, a 90% target for the separate collection of plastic bottles by 2025\
  \ is proposed. More information is available on the European Commission's website\
  \ (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/plastic_waste.htm). As mentioned, Slovenia\
  \ is in favour of EU-wide bans on the placing on the market of certain products\
  \ rather than activities at the level of individual Member States, and we always\
  \ support such activities and measures.\nHowever, it is also worth mentioning at\
  \ this point that supply always follows demand. As environmentally conscious consumers,\
  \ we are important stakeholders both in the choice of products and their packaging\
  \ and in waste management. Manufacturers are quick to adapt to consumer demands\
  \ and offer the products and packaging that we consumers prefer. Measures restricting\
  \ (or banning) the sale of certain products do not affect the individual's decision\
  \ to separate waste and consequently increase the recycling and recovery rate. We\
  \ therefore believe that the objective of preventing or reducing the adverse environmental\
  \ impacts of waste generation and management cannot be achieved by introducing restrictive\
  \ consumption measures alone, without the participation of environmentally conscious\
  \ consumers, who in particular act on their own initiative in a sustainable and\
  \ environmentally friendly way. Consumers always have a choice. We can refuse a\
  \ plastic carrier bag that we do not need, even if the trader offers it free of\
  \ charge. We can also choose a canvas shopping bag or shopping basket without a\
  \ ban on the sale of plastic carrier bags. For pre-packed fruit and vegetables,\
  \ we do not need a carrier bag, even though it is available (free of charge). Choose\
  \ from among equivalent products that are packaged in recyclable packaging. Above\
  \ all, dispose of products that are no longer needed and are not suitable for reuse\
  \ in an appropriate waste container or take them to a collection centre. In this\
  \ way, you will be contributing to less waste in the environment. Let's be aware\
  \ that every individual can do his or her bit to help protect the environment by\
  \ doing something small. Because if we do one small thing, together we can do a\
  \ lot to protect the environment. We don't have to be forced by legal rules and\
  \ bans.\n "
response date: 2018-08-03
response due date: null
sent date: 2018-05-07
title: Taxation of single-use consumer plastic packaging
upvotes: 34
url: https://predlagam.vladi.si/predlog/9177
