Don’t ban plastic bags in Victoria, charge for them instead

DO-GOODER Daniel Andrews has it wrong again. The bag ban won’t work — and it will put money right into the hands of supermarkets.

Researchers find 17 tonnes of plastic rubbish scattered on remote South Pacific island Plastic bags are on the way out in Victoria. Picture: AAP

• Shoppers face plastic bag ban
• What you won’t be getting at the market
• Supermarkets axes free plastic bags
• Now what do we put in our bins?

DO-GOODER Dan has got it wrong again.

Let’s not ban the plastic bag — it’ll just cause a surge in the use of other heavier bags.

Why not bring in a 20c charge instead and force retailers to donate the money raised to a national environmental fund?

A bag ban like the one proposed by the Victorian Government will be a $70 million windfall for supermarkets, who get enough of our hard-earned money already.

In other countries such as the UK, bringing in a small charge for plastic bags has been more effective in cutting overall bag use than outright bans.

Use of such bags in the UK has plummeted by more than 85 per cent after retailers were forced to charge 5 pence, around 10c, last year. Retailers have donated more than $50 million to environmental causes as a result.

People who are more inclined to reuse the bags will pay for them, ensuring they don’t turn to heavier bags instead.

What we want to do is stop people from taking single-use bags without thinking, when they don’t really need them. We want people to use fewer bags, that much is certain.

Supermarket green bags are one option. Picture: AAP

Single-use bags are very light and easily blown around when empty, with many ending up causing damage in rivers and oceans, where they are a major pollutant and killer of marine animals.

According to Clean Up Australia, plastics make up 38 per cent of waste, with plastic bags alone comprising 13 per cent of litter.

Indeed, Victoria’s Litter Report Card 2016 identifies plastic and micro-plastic litter as one of Victoria’s top five litter problems.

In the UK, charging for bags has led to a reduction of more than 6.5 billion bags given away in one year alone.

Some will argue even charging for single-use bags isn’t necessary. The argument goes that they prove their worth because they are used time and time again.

Sadly, this isn’t the case.

The number of those grey and white bags stuffed in our kitchen cupboards shows we have good intentions. The number of these bags that end up in landfill — and eventually in the oceans — shows we don’t follow through.

Single-use plastic bags have already been banned South Australia, ACT, Northern Territory and Tasmania. Queensland is set to follow suit next year, but there are signs outright bans don’t work without ongoing consumer education.

Victoria’s Environment Minister, Lily D’Ambrosio. Picture: AAP

A survey taken after the SA ban was brought in shows people remembered to bring their own shopping bags in eight out of ten cases.

However, over time people start forgetting and ongoing education is necessary.

The SA experience also shows a total ban leads to a rise in the purchase of heavier bags such as bin liners.

This was acknowledged by the Victorian Environment Minister yesterday.

Already many supermarkets such as Aldi don’t offer single-use bags, and customers know they must either carry their purchases, bring their own bags or pay 15c for a heavier bag.

Both Coles, IGA and Woollies have pledged to follow suit, which will lead to a major windfall for these retailers.

The problem, too, is that heavier bags must be reused a greater number of times to be worthwhile — for paper bags it’s four times and for green bags it’s 52 times.

Ensuring any funds raised are directed into environmental and educational campaigns will reduce the chance of retailer profiteering and help change consumer behaviour in the long term.

@susieob