Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on disposable carrier bag charge for smaller vendors by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on disposable carrier bag charge for smaller vendors by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether there have been efforts to monitor the implementation of the disposable carrier bag charge at smaller vendors who are not required to participate; and (b) if so, whether there have been any preliminary studies on the effectiveness of the programme in reducing plastic bag usage.

Answer:

1 Except for the obligated larger supermarket operators, other retailers have the prerogative to decide whether to charge for disposable carrier bags as a business decision. The National Environment Agency does not track such retailers that have voluntarily implemented disposable carrier bag charges.