Mandatory bag fee will serve as constant nudge to change consumer habits

THE war on plastic bags is a truly global one. Over a hundred countries either have a full or partial ban on these bags, or impose some form of tax on their usage. These include Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Australia, and almost every nation in Africa.

Singapore has not gone as far as to have an outright ban, instead preferring a pay-as-you-use approach as the authorities try different ways to bring down the numbers.

And the numbers are high. One news report in 2021 said that Singaporeans go through as many as 2.5 billion plastic bags a year, or about 452 bags for each person. Back in 2018, the Singapore Environment Council wrote in a position paper that Singapore uses at least 1.76 billion plastic items every year, including 820 million plastic bags from supermarkets.