I refer to your editorial entitled Education: key to wipe out turtle-killer (TMID, 5 March) and in particular to the claim that the PL has not put enough political pressure on the government to improve the measure to reduce the use of plastic bags; that our criticism has so far proven weak and that more could have been done about it, although you credited me for writing and speaking about the issue. You also mentioned the fact that we did not go into ways of avoiding all the loopholes that come with introducing a measure.

In all – apart from the letters to the editor and articles I wrote in various local newspapers on the said subject – I issued three separate media releases and also held a media conference at our CNL in which we specifically called on government:

· to introduce an extensive ongoing education and information campaign, as you suggested editorially;

· to go back to the drawing board since we were convinced that the whole scheme would be a failure – something which you have echoed editorially when claiming that it was clear that its aim would not be reached;

· to take heed of the concerns of the commercial and environmental sectors that the whole set of measures was full of loopholes which would prove to be anti-environmental rather than environmental friendly, as well as their expressed opinion that the government proposals failed to make sense either economically, commercially or environmentally;

Not only did we declare – as implied – that we merely encouraged the use of biodegradable bags, but we actually called on the government to introduce a tax incentive to encourage the use of the more environment friendly plastic bags so much so that another leading daily newspaper reported me in a banner title form as having stated that ‘The PL calls for the tax exemption of biodegradable bags’.

In a media conference for which one of your reporters was present, we made the point strongly that the government should encourage the use of cloth or canvas bag, wherein I cited their extensive use in countries like Canada and the USA.

I personally think that your criticism should have focused more on the government’s pigheadedness in steam rolling ahead regardless of the cross sectoral opposition, preferring as you implied to merely accommodate its ‘exemplary partners’ for reasons which might by now have become more obvious.

What your editorial also failed to point out was that the government allowed an air of deep uncertainty to prevail until the last few hours before the whole set of measures came into play while only two or three days after the introduction of these measures I personally heard the minister concede on Radio 101 that he was even contemplating to move the goalposts once again.

In my humble opinion we have milked the situation dry but faced as we were with a government in self-denial, any further effort would have been useless or counter productive.

It is now entirely up to the consumers involved to compare the government’s ‘green’ credentials with the un eco-friendly manner by which it tends to put them into practice.

Leo Brincat MP

Main Opposition Spokesperson for the Environment, Sustainable

Development & Climate Change

St Julian’s

Editorial note: The editorial referred to by Mr Brincat criticised the government at length on the way the plastic bags issue has been handled. It followed a series of news stories this newspaper carried to highlight the confusion in the days leading up to the introduction of the scheme and the first few days of its implementation.