Victorians face plastic bag ban at the supermarket checkout

VICTORIANS face a supermarket plastic bag ban after the Andrews Government committed to developing a national approach to bin them.

Person carrying non-degradable plastic shopping bags. These bags will be banned and only multi-use bags used which are better for the environment 06 Jan 2009.

VICTORIANS face a supermarket plastic bag ban after the Andrews Government committed to developing a national approach to bin them.

The Herald Sun can reveal that the government favours a ban over a levy, to stamp out many of the 3.9 billion single use lightweight shopping bags used every year in Australia.

The change is likely to elicit a heated reaction from some shoppers, and would come more than seven years after a 10c levy on bags was tested in a handful of Victorian supermarkets.

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Victoria has joined a working group set up by NSW and Queensland governments to plan for bagless shopping, after being told a federal government ban would not be established.

Environment Minister Lisa Neville told the Herald Sun a meeting of states last week was “productive” and included a discussion on the “damage plastic bags cause to the environment”.

“Victoria is looking forward to exploring the best national approach to implement a ban on plastic bags,” she said.

The Victorian Government is said to favour a ban on plastic bags over a levy.

Ms Neville was represented at the meeting by parliamentary secretary Anthony Carbines, who was briefed by officials about South Australia’s bag ban experience.

That ban came into effect in 2009, and restricts the supply of the common grey and white bags used at supermarket check-outs and takeaway food outlets — but doesn’t include smaller bags that shoppers use for fruit and vegetables.

Retailers are fined for breaking the ban, rather than shoppers, and larger bags such as those use by stores like JB Hi-Fi or Myer are not included.

Earlier this week federal environment minister Greg Hunt told 3AW he believed Victoria was “likely to head down some significant approach to reducing plastic bag waste”.

It is understood that some stakeholders in SA believe its restrictions — phased in over four months — were brought about too quickly and if Victoria was to adopt a similar ban it would be done over a longer period.

Supermarket giant Coles said it was “committed to reducing consumers’ reliance on single use lightweight plastic bags” and provided other bags for sale.

But while the firm said it complies with bans in the four states and territories that have them — SA, Tasmania, the ACT and Northern Territory — customers prefer choice.

“Coles supports voluntary options on single use lightweight plastic bags because our customers have told us they would like to make an informed choice,” a spokeswoman said.

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