From: BevCPro@no.address Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2004 11:05:40 EST Subject: Re: [greenyes] EPR for Grocery Bags? To: gary@no.address CC: aleonard@no.address, mwilson@no.address, david@no.address
The plastic bag tax in Ireland had the most success in drastically reducing plastic bag use. The tax was 10 cents (euro) and created a switch to paper bags and reusables. The green dot system in Germany works by putting a fee on packaging based on weight and volume, hence the reduction in plastic use to more recyclable materials and less materials in general. During 1991 to 1997 the Green Dot resulted in 13% less packaging per capita compared to a 14% per capita increase in the USA. So a fee is the way to go, along with mandatory recycling targets (as well as ensuring the plastic is not shipped overseas for processing or incineration)
Bev
Beverley Thorpe Clean Production Action tel: +1 514 484 8647 Bev@no.address <www.cleanproduction.htm>www.cleanproduction.org
From: <troypam@no.address> To: <greenyes@no.address> Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2004 14:00:09 -0500
We have a bit of an issue up here in Ottawa, ON Canada - as a municipality - they are looking at a way of cutting costs and one of the costs that came out was Ottawa's expense of collecting recyclable plastic grocery bags and shipping them to China - the cost to us to do this was somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.8 million Canadian. Because of the outcry on the expense - some politicians have speculated that this cost of recycling is extravagant and the whole recycling program should be cancelled.
Is there no resource out there who would buy this raw material for products like Trex and or a broker who could find a buyer for this content? Does it have to go to China - and according - they some if not all of this is burnt, landfilled or incinerated. Comments, thoughts please - need to put a recycle letter campaign together.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Troy Glasner troy@no.address