Essay On Plastic Bag Tax

Plastic bags have become an ever-growing issue with the increasing predicament of pollution into today’s society. Single use plastic bags are made from petroleum products and therefore affect fossil fuel supplies. The sourcing and manufacturing process of this product plays a part in environmental pollution, and is therefore a contributing threat to the environment (Clapp & Swanston, 2009). This critical economic overview of a plastic bag tax shall examine and analyse both the positive and the negative impacts that plastic bags play in our society. The economic, social and environmental aspects are key to examining whether or not a plastic bag tax is right for Australia.

Plastic bag consumption has become an increasingly prominent issue. …show more content…
An alternate policy that has been considered by Israeli parliament members is to prohibit plastic bags, and encourage the use of multi-use bags (Ayalon, Goldrath, Rosenthal, & Grossman, 2009). An exception in this policy is to allow plastic bags only for fresh food products to maintain hygiene (Ayalon, Goldrath, Rosenthal, & Grossman, 2009). This policy would dramatically reduce plastic bag usage, however the consumers will still purchase bin liners, which may be seen to contradict the policy and the risk of retailers switching to paper bags as a cheap alternative to multi-use green …show more content…
In summary, it is evident through critical economic analysis that a plastic bag tax would be beneficial to Australia, and its environment as well as ridding the marketplace of overconsumption and inefficiency. As proven throughout the world, this tax could bring the Australian plastic bag marketplace back into equilibrium at maximum efficiency, where marginal benefit equals marginal