Swiss retailers review deal on fees for single-use plastic bags

Agreement for chargeable plastic bags is being scrutinised Keystone-SDA

The agreement reached in 2016 on the introduction of chargeable plastic bags at Swiss shop checkouts is being scrutinised. The Swiss Retail Federation is analysing whether it wants to terminate the agreement it concluded with IG Retail.

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Dagmar Jenni, Managing Director of the Swiss Retail Federation, confirmed a corresponding report in the SonntagsZeitung newspaper on Sunday. She said that this industry agreement between her association and the IG retail association of Coop, Migros and Denner was designed from the outset to only last until 2025 if the targets were achieved.

The agreement also states that it will be extended by two years if the targets set out in the agreement are not met. However, the targets of the 2016 agreement were achieved very quickly.

Today, 88% fewer single-use plastic bags are used at the checkouts of Swiss retail shops than in 2016, and the target was a reduction of 70-80%. The target value has been exceeded for years.

The association therefore assumes that the introduction of the cost obligation for plastic bags has reached all environmentally conscious consumers. “Nothing is moving any more,” explained Jenni. In this situation, there are two options for the Swiss Retail Federation management.

Firstly, to continue the agreement together with IG Retail – with the administrative obligations removed. Or to cancel the agreement with IG Retail for formal reasons at the end of the year in order to continue the content of the industry agreement within the Swiss Retail Federation. This would eliminate the administrative costs.

The “Raschelsäckli” (small, thin plastic bags) had repeatedly occupied the federal parliament. In 2012, parliament instructed the government to ban disposable plastic bags to protect the environment. In autumn 2016, however, parliament then reverted to its decision and left it up to the retail trade to ensure that fewer disposable bags are put into circulation.

Cost obligation is not up for debate

Jenni added that it is important that the Swiss Retail Federation is not considering cancelling the obligation to pay for plastic bags handed in at the checkout. “The reintroduction of free bags is not an issue,” the Managing Director emphasised.

In view of the stagnating figures, the association is concerned with cancelling the monitoring of the distribution of chargeable bags, and that alone. “It’s about streamlining the administration.” The office has now informed its members and will then look further.

Jenni also points out that the agreement is a private one, concluded between the two associations. According to her, only 6% of the plastic bags sold at the checkout for a few centimes are from members of her association. The remaining 94% are therefore sold in the shops of IG Retail members.

The Swiss Retail Federation is the association of retail companies in Switzerland. Its members include department stores, speciality shops and shops, kiosks and online retailers. The association represents a total of 1,900 retail companies with around 60,000 employees.

IG Retail could not be reached for comment.

Translated from German by DeepL/jdp

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