Large supermarkets must charge at least S$0.05 for disposable carrier bags

FROM mid-2023, large supermarkets with an annual turnover of more than S$100 million will have to charge at least S$0.05 for each disposable carrier bag, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) Grace Fu at the Committee of Supply debate on Monday (Mar 7).

The charge applies to disposable bags regardless of the type of material used, for purchases made at physical stores. It will cover about two-thirds of all supermarket outlets in Singapore, including NTUC FairPrice, Cold Storage, Giant, Sheng Siong and Prime supermarket outlets.

"Over time, we hope that the charge will encourage Singaporeans to adopt sustainable habits and bring our own bags when shopping at supermarkets and other stores," said Fu.

She noted that places closer to home, such as Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, have also implemented a disposable carrier bag charge to reduce the use of bags.

The minimum bag charge will not be extended to smaller convenience stores for now. However, supermarket operators with an annual turnover of less than S$100 million may still choose to implement their own bag charges.

A rising number of retailers in Singapore have voluntarily implemented a charge on disposable carrier bags, "which has shown to be effective in encouraging the use of reusables", said Fu.

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The National Environment Agency (NEA) strongly encourages supermarket operators to use the collected proceeds from the minimum bag charge to support charitable programmes or sustainability-related initiatives.

To uphold accountability and transparency in the use of the proceeds, these operators will be required to publish information on the number of bags issued; proceeds received from the bag charge; and how the proceeds are used.

The bag charge comes after more than 1 and a half years of consultations with close to 6,000 stakeholders, including low-income groups and representatives from the social services sector.

NEA also published a consultation paper with proposed details of the disposable carrier bag charge for further public feedback between January and February 2022.

In a NEA survey of around 1,000 respondents in September 2021, more than 80 per cent agreed that the excessive use of disposable bags has a negative impact on the environment and close to 90 per cent agreed that they had a part to play in reducing the usage of disposable bags. More than 70 per cent agreed that a mandatory charge would reduce usage of such bags.

A common concern raised at public consultations is that households require disposable bags to bag their waste, said NEA. But disposable bags, including those for the bagging of fresh produce such as fruits and fish, will still be available from supermarkets, as well as other retail outlets and online shopping delivery, the agency said.

READ MORE: All Cheers, Fairprice Xpress outlets to charge for plastic bags next year