Queensland could soon ban plastic shopping bags.
The Newman government is considering a plan to cut waste, particularly plastic.
One proposal aims to force shoppers to bring their own bags, or pay 15 cents to $2 for reusable or biodegradable bags, The Courier-Mail reports.
Similar bans are already in place in South Australia, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory.
Other initiatives under consideration include an education campaign on the problem of excess waste.
Education Minister Andrew Powell said the government would engage in public consultation later this year, before any decision was made.
He said the government would look closely at the experiences of other states that had imposed bag bans.
Queenslanders use an almost 800 million plastic bags a year.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/latest/17966110/qld-considers-plastic-bag-ban/
Turtles mistake them for jellyfish and eat them. They can't pass them and die in agony.
I'd applaud any plan of any government to cut waste, but this has all been around before hasn't it?.
How do you force ppl to bring their own bags or pay for them? If the government were serious, they'd ban supermarkets from offering them.
With the power the major retailers have, I can't see them doing that, can you?
plastic bag ban has been here in SA for ages.
Its fine. You just buy a heap of green bags and keep them in your boot and take them into the shops with you.
@a_dingo_ate_my_chinwagger wrote:Don't need to buy plastic bags or green bags. I just buy the cotton cloth bags from the supermarket and wash them when they contain mushrooms which i didn't buy. 😉
Lol chinwagger
I agree with Chuk about the green bags though.
For the supermarkets they've become another saleable item and they do them up in all sorts of colours and designs to appeal to the customer. Certainly they're an alternative to plastic bags, but people need to use them as chuk does. Keep them in the boot and use them for every shop.
I've notice a lot of young people in my area don't bother, they walk out with laden with their shopping in plastic bags, which go straight in the bin when they're unpacked, without a thought. What a waste. Of resources which go into making them, and the environment which they go back to.
It's not just shopping bags though. Companies which use plastice to manufacture and package their product should be made responsible for the disposal of their waste.
