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

      Community case study: Coles Bay
      In April 2003, Coles Bay retailers decided to reduce the number of plastic bags used in the area and stopped supplying them
      to customers.
      Instead they introduced ecologically sensitive alternatives including Australian-made recycled paper bags and reusable calico
      shopping bags.
      In the first 12 months, they stopped the use of 350,000 plastic checkout bags.
      The Tasmanian Government moved to ban plastic bags 10 years later and promotes Coles Bay as Australia’s first ‘plastic bag-free town’.




                      Jurisdictional action on plastic bags
                      As a result of failure to reach national agreement on action, and following a steady increase in the use of plastic bags
                      after the end of the voluntary Code of Practice, two states and two territories have banned the supply of lightweight
                      single-use plastic shopping bags.
                      In 2008, the South Australian Government became the first Australian state to introduce legislation that banned the
                      supply of single-use lightweight plastic shopping bags. Legislation banning the use of plastic shopping bags has now
                      been enacted in the Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania (Table 1).
                      At a late 2015 Meeting of Environment Ministers, Ministers agreed that Queensland and New South Wales would co-
                      convene a ministerial roundtable to inform a harmonised approach to reducing the environmental impact of plastic
                      shopping bags. At the plastic bag roundtable held in February 2016, stakeholders examined the scientific evidence,
                      the experiences of jurisdictions that have banned plastic bags, and next steps for government. Queensland, New South
                      Wales, Victoria and Western Australian formed a working group to guide discussion on the development of a joint
                      solution to reducing the impact of plastic bags on the environment.



Table 1: Summary of regulated plastic shopping bag bans in Australia
                                                                            Applies to
                     Date of ban Coverage          Exemptions                            Results
                                                                           all retailers
South Australia          2009      <35 micron      Biodegradable bags           Yes      Reports of reduction of almost 400 million plastic
                                   plastic bags                                          bags per year, and substantial reduction in shopping
                                                                                         bag litter.
Northern Territory       2010      <35 micron      Biodegradable bags           Yes      Review in 2014 claimed annual reduction of 31 million
                                   plastic bags                                          banned bags.
ACT                      2011      <35 micron      Biodegradable bags           Yes      Review in 2014 indicated amount of landfilled plastic
                                   plastic bags                                          bag waste decreased by one-third.
Tasmania                 2013      <35 micron      Biodegradable bags           Yes      Reduction in shopping bag litter.
                                   plastic bags




      Australian case study:
      Australian Capital Territory plastic bag ban
      The Australian Capital Territory brought in a ban on lightweight single-use shopping bags in November 2011. A survey of consumers
      and grocers in 2012 found that:
      »» Most primary shoppers (84%) reported taking reusable bags always or most of the time.
      »» The majority of shoppers (58%) supported the ban, with support strongest amongst younger age groups.
      »» Most shoppers (73%) did not feel they had to plan their shopping trips as a result of the ban, with 85% more likely to bring
         their own reusable bags.
      »» Most shoppers (69%) did not want to see the ban extended to cover all plastic bags.
      »» Two-thirds of shoppers would like the ban to be implemented nationally.
      A review of the ban in 2014 found it had reduced the plastic bag material going to landfill and had been successful in reducing
      the incidence of plastic bags as litter.




                                                                                                                            Discussion paper | 13