Today marks the first anniversary of the introduction of the plastic bag levy, which earned the Exchequer almost €10 million last year and took more than one billion bags out of circulation.
The 15 cent levy was introduced on March 4th, 2002, by the then minister for the environment and local government, Mr Dempsey, amid some scepticism over its prospects for success.
Such critics have since been won over, however, according to Mr Dempsey's successor, Mr Cullen. "Quite apart from the immediate objective of cutting down our consumption of disposable plastic bags, it has been very effective in raising awareness of waste-management issues and the part each one of us can play in reducing the amount of waste we produce," he said.
Total receipts from the levy last year amounted to €9.6 million. Taking into account start-up and administrative costs, total net receipts stood at €8 million. This figure is expected to rise to around €11 million in a full year.
According to retailers, consumption of plastic bags fell by at least 90 per cent. Before the levy had been introduced, 1.2 billion such bags, or roughly 325 per person, had been circulated each year.
The Minister noted there was a "small number" of retailers who were continuing to ignore or misapply the relevant regulations, adding: "We do not want to let the thoughtlessness of a minority undermine the efforts and goodwill of the majority."
Retails who fail to implement the levy are liable to a maximum fine of €1,905 and/or up to a year in prison on summary conviction or €12.7 million and/or imprisonment of up to 10 years on indictment.
However, a spokeswoman for the Department said it was not aware of any prosecutions.
Mr Cullen urged the public to report non-compliance of the levy regulations to their local authority.
The levy, according to the Minister, had had "a dramatic impact on our consumption of plastic bags and on the problem of visual litter. This initiative won the widespread support of the public and caught the imagination of people in many countries."
Superquinn, which shed 70 million plastic bags from its shops last year, said the levy had also helped to reduce the time spent at checkouts by 15 per cent. This was due to the increased use of the company's re-usable "green bags", of which 2.7 million have been sold.
The Plastics Industries Association was among those to criticise the levy before its introduction, claiming it was in breach of EU regulations and liable to challenge by the European Commission.
Proceeds of the levy are being channelled through the Environment Fund to support waste management, recycling and other environmental initiatives run by local authorities.
