The consultants' study on plastic bags published this week recommended a tax on them to reduce their use. The report also looked at a number of options for disposing of plastic bags, other than into waste dumps. These included:
burning the plastic as part of a greater refuse incineration programme. Plastic has a calorific value (the heat produced per unit weight) of 46 MJ/kg, compared to 25-30 MJ/kg for coal and 16 MJ/kg for wood.
using new technology to "crack" the polymers, thereby transforming them into oil and other hydrocarbon products. Referred to as "feedstock recycling", a number of plants in Germany are doing this already and BP Chemicals is developing a pilot plant at Grangemouth in Scotland. "The proximity of the proposed Scottish pilot plant to the Irish market raises the possibility of directing recovered plastic waste (including bags) to this plant when it becomes operational," the authors said.