Despite our reduction in plastic bag use Australians still use over 4 billion plastic checkout bags a year – all of them made from non-renewable fossil fuels. We only use plastic bags for minutes but many of them can take hundreds of years to break down.
[b]Threat to wildlife[/b] – Plastic bags can have a devastating impact on marine life. Within the marine environment marine life can mistake them for jellyfish and other food sources. As a result far too many turtles whales and other marine animals wash up on beaches with their insides littered with plastic bags. Others like penguins can also get caught up in them with fatal results.
[b]Environmental menace[/b] – A Government report estimated that up to 47% of litter that escapes from landfill is plastic – given their windborne nature too much of this is plastic bags. As many of our landfills are based within 100km of the coastline too many of these plastic bags end up in the marine environment.
[b]Cost to consumers[/b] – Not only is the environmental cost high so too is the cost to households. In 2002 a Sunday Telegraph report quoted industry figures saying $100 million a year was being added to grocery bills to pay for the plastic bags that we get at the check-out.
[b]The solution[/b] – The ‘Ban the Bag’ campaign aims to end our addiction to non-biodegradable plastic checkout bags. The problem is severe and widespread but the solutions are already proven.
Fast growing supermarket chain ALDI does not give away any free plastic checkout bags. Other retailers like Bunnings Nando’s and IKEA have banned plastic bags. Stores like McDonald’s only use paper bags. From May 4th South Australia will ban traditional plastic checkout bags in all retail outlets. For over five years the Tasmanian community of Coles Bay has banned plastic bags at the checkout. Many other communities here and overseas have followed their example.
It’s time to ‘Ban the Bag’. It’s time for Australia to go plastic bag free at the checkout.
[url=http://www.banthebag.com.au/]http://www.banthebag.com.au/[/url]