Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on impact of plastic bag charge by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on impact of plastic bag charge by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Ms Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether a survey has been conducted on the impact of the charging for plastic bags at supermarkets in terms of how households bag their trash; (b) whether there has there been an increase in the purchase of plastic garbage bags since the implementation of charges for such plastic bags; (c) if not currently tracked, whether this can be done; and (d) what is being done to support and educate households to reduce the use of plastic bags for bagging trash and its alternatives.

Answer:

1 Since the implementation of the mandatory disposable carrier bag charge on 3 July 2023, our public waste collectors have not observed any changes in households’ waste disposal habits. Households have continued to bag their waste before throwing it down the rubbish chutes.

2 We do not track the sales of trash bags. The National Environment Agency (NEA) will monitor households’ waste disposal habits and review the impact of the disposable carrier bag charge after a full year of implementation.