2017-01-16 GC - Attachment 1 to Item 8 - Plastic Bag Discussion Paper

National and international responses
It is not just Queenslanders who are concerned about plastic pollution and plastic bags in the environment. Governments elsewhere in
Australia and around the world have taken action to reduce plastic bag pollution. This provides an opportunity to learn from the experiences
in other places and select the best features of these policies that are most suited to Queensland.




                         National action

   2002                  »» Major retailers
                            develop voluntary
                                                            National action
                                                            »» Estimated 45%
                                                                                                 National action
                                                                                                 »» National work to look at options
                            Code of Practice for               reduction in                         to restrict plastic bag use
                            the Management of                  lightweight                          commences.
                            Plastic Bags.                      plastic bag
                                                               use under the                     International action
                         International action                  voluntary Code                    »» UK supermarkets adopt voluntary
                         »» Ireland introduces                 of Practice.                         reduction target of 50% by 2009.
                            a charge of 15p,
                            achieving more than
                            90% reduction in six
                            months.
                         »» Bangladesh bans
                            polyethylene bags.
                                                           2005                                 2006




   2003
                                                                           2007
       National action
       »» Australia’s Environment
          Protection and Heritage
          Council (EPHC) committed                  National action                                                             2008
          to phase out lightweight,                 »» EPHC re-confirms plastic
          single-use plastic bags                      bag phase-out commitment.
          by 1 January 2009.
                                                    International action                        National action
       »» Code of Practice
          commences.                                »» California’s 2007 Plastic                »» Following consultation on a
                                                       Bag Recycling Bill                          Decision Regulatory Impact
       International action                            encourages cities to ban                    Statement, no national agreement
       »» South Africa banned ‘thin’                   checkout bags.                              reached on a preferred approach.
          plastic bags <30 microns.                 »» Irish bag levy raised due to
                                                       increase in bag use.                     International action
                                                                                                »» China regulates to ban thin bags,
                                                                                                   mandate a charge for thicker bags,
                                                                                                   and limit plastic bag production.



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