Published on 25 March 2023
The move for the majority of supermarkets to charge consumers at the very least 5 cents for each and every non reusable service provider bag will start on 3 July.
The start date was revealed by Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor in Parliament on Thursday (2 March), during her ministry’s Committee of Supply discussion.
Concerning 400 grocery store outlets – or two-thirds of all outlets here – will be using the charge for disposable purchasing bags of all materials. These outlets are by operators with an annual turnover of more than $100 million: NTUC FairPrice, Cold Storage, Giant, Sheng Siong and Prime.
“By making the expense of non reusable carrier bags visible to customers, the fee will push consumers to be conscious of and lower their use of disposables,” Dr Khor claimed, including that consumers can avoid the fee by bringing their own.
multiple-use bags.
The cost will not apply to non-carrier bags such as flat-top plastic bags for fresh produce, meat or fish and seafood.
The transfer to make the bag charge compulsory at huge grocery stores is part of numerous proposed amendments to the Source Sustainability Act tabled in Parliament last month.
Dr Khor claimed similar plans have already been executed in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Britain, and have actually led to a drop in plastic bags made use of by 60 per cent to 90 percent.
A variety of smaller sized sellers as well as some supermarkets have currently been billing for plastic and also paper shopping bags. These include The Body Shop, H&M, Guardian, Watsons, 7 Eleven, 11 FairPrice outlets and 178 Cheers as well as FairPrice Xpress shops.
Dr Khor also revealed in Parliament that every house can accumulate a recycling box from vending machinese later on this month, to make it more convenient for family members to reuse.
The foldable box – called Bloobox – can stand up to 5kg of paper, plastic, metal or glass recyclables, or electronic waste. Each container likewise comes with a detachable divider to separate tiny e-waste items such as batteries and light bulbs from various other recyclables.
