The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian plastics product supplier yesterday said pleas for government assistance have not been answered as it prepares to terminate more staff following a 50 percent sales slump.

Louise Munroe, owner of Plastic Property Ltd, told Tribune Business her business is in “a total mess” due to the 25 cents to $1 per bag charge imposed on consumers who purchase single-use plastics prior to the full ban taking effect from July 1, 2020.

With Bahamians having emphatically rejected the fee, she explained that the wholesale company has literally been left “holding the bag” because retailers are refusing to order any from her given virtually zero demand.

As a result, Ms Munroe said the loss of her previously “number one product line” has already caused the termination of two staff from Plastic Property’s ten-strong workforce, with a further two lay-offs imminent.

With her calls for the removal of the plastic bag fee seemingly falling on deaf ears, she added that “the worst thing” about the company’s situation is that it has already paid VAT and import tariffs to bring in inventory that it cannot move.

While acknowledging the need to safeguard The Bahamas’ environment, Ms Munroe argued that other countries - such as the UK and Canada - had introduced the single-use plastics ban gradually and in such a way that it gave companies in the sector sufficient time to adjust.

She asserted, though, that Plastic Property Ltd was being asked to “change a 22 year-old business model in just 12 months” - something she described as “just ridiculous”.

Despite urging Romauld Ferreira, minister of the environment, to eliminate the minimum 25 cent per plastic bag fee during a Rotary meeting last month, Ms Munroe told this newspaper: “I have not received any relief at all. No one has been in contact with me. I’m now trying to figure out what to do. This is quite a big issue and challenge for my business that I’m going through. It’s very bad.”

Revealing that Plastic Property Ltd is currently holding 200,000 single-use plastic bags it cannot move, she added that she has not counted the other banned products also held in inventory - such as styrofoam plates and cups.

Despite reducing orders from overseas suppliers for the six-month transition period prior to the full ban’s implementation, Ms Munroe said she and the Bahamian merchants she supplies - the likes of Super Value, Budget Foods and Exuma Markets - had vastly over-estimated the willingness of consumers to pay the plastic bag fee.

“People have totally rejected the 25 cents,” she added. “I shopped for groceries this week and no one is buying those bags. Budget Foods don’t even take my calls. They say they cannot order them because no one is buying.

“I was probably the number one supplier of plastic bags on the island. Bags were my number one product. Because of the ban total sales in my business are down by 50 percent. I’ve already laid-off two staff and am about to lay-off two more because it’s really affecting the business. It’s quite bad to tell you the truth.”

Ms Munroe said she was especially upset that Plastic Property had already paid significant import taxes on product it will likely be unable to sell. “The Government has done nothing to assist,” she blasted.

“The worst thing about this is we have already paid all the duty and taxes on the product that is sitting there; 45 percent duty on bags that they increased six months prior to the transition period. They increased the biodegradable duty from 5 percent to 45 percent.

“If you’re going to shut us down, give us the tax back. You’re squeezing me even more. Is it the Government’s policy to not only shut us down but to take the money from us when we’ve paid duty and VAT on those products?” Ms Munroe continued.

“They said they would give us six months to get rid of it, and they put 25 cents on it. How do you expect is to get rid of it if nobody is buying from us? It’s a total mess. Not good at all. This is just total inconsideration for someone in business for 22 years, and it’s not affecting just me but the end user. This is not the way to go.”

Mr Ferreira could not be reached for comment yesterday. However, in responding to Ms Munroe’s complaints at last month’s Rotary meeting, he argued that more than-adequate warning had been given of the Government’s intentions since its 2017 election manifesto pledged to ban single-use plastics by 2020.

He added that the first public meeting was held on the matter in July 2018, and an “aggressive marketing” campaign had been waged ever since through billboards and other mechanisms to allow Bahamians to “get your house in order”.

However, Ms Munroe argued that while the environment was important The Bahamas is facing “far more serious issues in this country than plastic bags”. She added that other countries had eliminated single-use plastics through a much more gradual phase-out approach lasting three years.

“We accept the environment is important and we need to cut back,” she told Tribune Business, “but this is not the way to handle the situation. It’s poor on the Government’s part. It’s like a slap in the face and I’m so disappointed in this government. It’s like almost saying: ‘Give up on your dreams, we don’t care’.

“They’ve just shattered someone in business for 22 years. They’re asking me to change a business model in 12 months after 22 years of building it up. This is just ridiculous. It’s not been done properly. He who knows it, feels it, and I am feeling it. That’s very sad.”