Discussion of the Day
Do you think that there should be a high tax on virgin plastics?
APB26-Mar-21
So much of our plastic goods are now all carefully coded so that you know which plastic it is...so it can be recycled...but only 1 or 2 types ever are...the rest all become landfill...because it is much cheaper to use new brand-new plastic...rather than recycle existing stock...how about MAKING them recycle. by making new plastic more expensive...with higher taxes on materials?
Comments
  • Maybe I'm old fashioned but I haven't yet worked out why we started using it in the first place.
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    • Doreen a I agree with you
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      • You make a product using entirely recycled plastics you pay no GST on selling that product...you make it using 80% recycled plastics...it has a 5% GST (for anyone overseas..this is our VAT or goods and services tax)...for anyone that uses virgin plastics..that puppy gets AT LEAST 25% GST..I'd like to see even higher...I don't care where it was made..YOU DON'T USE VIRGIN PLASTIC
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        • Just wondering, who is going to be able to afford to pay the high tax? It's like putting extra tax on soft drinks and other sugary drinks and just sugar as well. I think the general populous is fed up with all the extra taxes already being charged disguised as levies.
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          • l am sick of every time the government wants to collect money they hit the poor with another tax, what do we get out of this, nothing, for god sake just stop making plastic. We have enough trouble putting food on the table for our families and paying for utilities, rent, mortgages and food.
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            • no not shore I think it good to have food plastics is a very good why to keep and move it around there is food shortages all over there needs to be a ban on people having to meany chilrden in some places
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              • Thank you amber
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            • Not higher taxes for the consumer .If any extra tax has to be charged, it should be the producer of the plastics who should pay .
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              • Dollars vs. sense
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                • We need to move away from plastics for a lot of things and look at biodegradable options. I suppose it depends on the product but if plastic needs to be used it should be recyclable plastic only.
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                  • Most people have no or very little understanding of what plastic is...it is a complex subject..co-polymers are where you start to make plastics that are difficult to break down...mono polymers can be excellent plastics that break down in sunlight...even fertilise the soil..you can make a strong short term use plastic from the waste of producing olive oil...but NOBODY does...without proper information and anyone intelligent in charge we are always going to confused and misdirected...
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                • If there was depending on its use it would be added onto the consumers cost, the same as GST
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                  • I agree
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                    • We have banned from supermarkets the plastic carry bags and people are bringing their own bags but others just pay for the really heavy plastic bags at the checkout. One also not buys plastic bin bags, garbage bags etc. which we never did. I remember when I was younger my mother wrapped rubbish in the old newspapers but this will not be an option soon as these are being eliminated. Whatever the public do it will cost us personally but big business will make more money and the environment will not be any better off. Why don't countries or these environmentalists get together and remove all the rubbish from that big area in the ocean that is miles wide with stuff. why don't they go into the Asian countries that use the creeks and rivers etc for garbage dumps and clean them up. We have a clean up Australia day here over and above the local councils who are supposed to do this and tons of waste is taken from the foreshores, river banks etc. One at least can see this being beneficial.
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                      • We get taxed enough in Australia for just about everything. We pay extra for products that can be recycled but recyling places are few and far between so they are getting extra money out of us already. Instead of buying plastic buy cans or glass or actually recycle them if you can.
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                        • We should be able to recycle everything
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                          • Absolutely agree.
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                            • No as it will put prices up Ban all plastics
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                              • while big business is making huge dollars from oil (what goes into making plastic) nothing will change . damn it ! .
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                                • Absolutely!!!! Let’s get those creative money making minds focussed on using the ‘stuff’ that’s lying around, that we have too much of, that we don’t know what to do with, that we shove into big wholes in the Earth, and kill all our marine life with, and put it to use. No more making new ‘stuff’ to keep trying to hide.
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                                  • i dont really know ,,no comment
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                                    • It is somethign that needs doing now not latter and they need to stop Virgin Materials being the chepest option for any packaging.
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                                      • How about the manufacturers start producing containers (that are recyclable) other than plastic in the first place?? ..... a little education goes a long way .........
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                                        • Why higher taxes? Stop producing new non recyclable plastic.
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                                          • punish the manufacturers pocket, its the only way
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                                            • Took me 4 paragraphs to say that
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                                          • I think its time to look for a viable replacement for plastics in general.
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                                            • The trouble is when a tax is created ,we the consumer suffers. There is always someone thinking of another way to extract money from us. Of course this is new a new thing , way back in ancient times in the UK they thought of a tax on some of the strangiest things eg on windows
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                                              • Yes
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                                                • Yes
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                                                  • It should be mandatory for manufacturers to use totally recyclable materials and there to be a refundable deposit scheme on appropriate items.
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                                                    • The companies making plastic products should pay a tax out of their profits, without raising the cost to consumers. This small dent in their huge profit margin may make them rethink their actions & put the responsibility back on the companies creating the problem. Then the companies buying these products to sell to consumers should also pay a tax without raising the cost to consumers. An example of this would be Coles/Woolworths brand 1.25L soft drinks. When it was announced that I could sell these for 10 cents each, the price immediately went up by 10 cents, weeks before it was possible to actually do. The price has gone up a further 15 cents since. Same applies to aluminium cans which are recyclable as compared to most plastic products which aren't. Check out Weaver Green, the products aren't as rough as I imagined. I also think that any person or company that makes more than a $million a year should pay more tax. Examples including mines, airlines, instead of the customers & shareholders, also non citizens buying investment properties & politicians should pay more.
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                                                      • yes get rid of plastic and go back to glass
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                                                        • thats a great idea, but no government will go to an election with a new tax
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                                                          • Tax at source. Dow chemicals to start, if they produce the raw material for the non recyclicable plastic , they pay for the disposal.
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                                                            • Governments don't have the guts to be that progressive.
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                                                          • when i was growing up we never use plastic everything came in glass bottle and some how everything taste better in glass even coke on a hot day .
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                                                            • Higher taxes on plastics that can not be recycle. However, this problem still has to be tackle on an international level!!!
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                                                              • It is always concerning that plastic takes so long to break down and even then the particles are not exactly environmentally friendly.
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                                                                • Yes
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                                                                  • it would be better if they only make plastic that can be recycled or maybe make more of that bio plastic that I keep hearing about that is meant to becoming out.
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                                                                    • I think somebody needs to do some research on why plastic is being used, in terms of cost to the companies. For example, why do we have so many drinks in plastic bottles when we could have them in glass bottles? What is the cost advantage to companies doing this? Then, armed with the findings from that research, we could find the best mechanisms governments could use to significantly reduce plastic packaging. It may well be taxes.
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                                                                      • plastic can be recycled. just stop making the stuff that can't.
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                                                                        • Absolutely agree with making new plastic more expensive it may deter them but will more than likely increase the price of the product we buy. And I agree with what Lachelle B has written make them pay more tax if not using recyclable or biodegradable plastic this should deter them also.
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                                                                          • How about making the company pay more tax if they don't make recycleable or biodegradeable plastic? At the end of the day it's consumerism and convenience. You can lead a horse to water.....
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                                                                            • Absolutely agree with you Lachelle
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                                                                          • Totally agree and it should be on the company’s
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                                                                            • YES
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                                                                              • taxing is a bad idea we are taxed on everything. it really won't deter people from using plastic. we are a society where people do what they want, recycling is the better way to go
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                                                                                • Reusing plastic is the wawy to go
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                                                                                  • I agree. I have been to countries where there is plastic waste knee deep in the streets. In my own country, plastic is freely clogging up the waterways. Something has to be done before the whole world becomes a rubbish tip.
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