Some shoppers suspicious over plastic bag charge

Although most shoppers have been receptive to the new plastic bag charge some have voiced their suspicions, supermarket managers said on Monday.

Some people thought the five-cent charge introduced on Sunday was a way for supermarkets to make more money.

Supermarket manager Andreas Georgiou, 36, said most people have accepted the changes.

“But a few refused outright to buy the products when they realised the plastic bags now have to be paid for, storming off with all the goods left at the till,” he said.

This is though the shop has placed announcements at the windows which can be seen from outside.

“People don’t really pay attention,” he said, adding that a big reason for the problem is that customers believe the change has been made to make money for the supermarket.

Environment commissioner Ioanna Panayiotou said on Thursday at a start of a public information campaign that money collected from the sale of the bags will be placed in a special fund managed by Green Dot recycling company and controlled by the environment department to raise awareness of how to reduce plastic use, but this message has obviously not gotten through to everybody.

Apart from dealing with angry customers, the supermarkets have to make other arrangements more complicated than simply selling canvas bags or charging for the bags.

As Georgiou explained, some shoppers were trying to use the very thin plastic bags used for fruits and vegetables for carrying other products. These bags are exempt from the charge but break easily.

Despite some misgivings about the final destination of the money paid for the plastic bags, many shoppers are positive the manager said.

“I think it’s our way to clean the environment, so it makes me sleep better at night and makes me think that I add a little drop to everyone else’s drop,” Martha Petrou, who recently moved to Cyprus from Greece, said. “Anything that has a financial impact on them will make people change.”

Other shoppers thought the legislation did not go far enough. “What difference does it now make? We are stopping at the plastic bag, when the packet of salami and cheese I am holding are both wrapped in plastic. People are nitpicking at the problem, without truly making any gains or progress in a struggle to save the environment.”

The Pancyprian Supermarket Association also welcomed the launch of the charge.

“It is well known that the inexpert use of the plastic transport bag pollutes to the environment greatly and that is why the European Union has obliged the member states to take measures,” it said in an announcement.

They called on the public to support the new law.

(Additional reporting Christophe Hadjigeorghiou)

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