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

The nature of the problem
In Australia and internationally, there is increasing evidence about the cumulative impact that plastic has on soils, waterways, marine
environments and fauna. Impacts include entanglement and ingestion. Over time plastics in the environment break down into smaller and
smaller pieces, so compounding the problem.
Marine debris is recognised under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) as a ‘key threatening
process’ which is a process that ‘threatens or may threaten the survival, abundance or evolutionary development of a native species or
ecological community’.
The Threat Abatement Plan for the Impacts of Marine Debris on Vertebrate Marine Life was established under the Act in 2009. Following a
review a revised plan is currently under development that is intended to better address the impact of plastics.
Work is currently underway through the national Environment Ministers forum to address single-use plastic packaging and microplastics in
the environment. The immediate focus of the microplastic work is on microbeads present in personal care products such as toothpaste and
face scrubs.
Restricting the number of plastic bags is an important part of the response to reduce the overall amount of plastic entering our environment.
Around 900 million lightweight plastic shopping bags are estimated to be used annually in Queensland.
These plastic bags are designed to be used as single-use carry bags for people to use to take goods from the shops to their homes.
The majority of plastic bags end up in landfill and 1–2% are littered—which means almost 20 million plastic bags could enter the Queensland
environment each year.



Plastic in the environment                                                Impact of plastic bag litter
Numerous studies have shown that plastics, including plastic bags, are    The impact of plastic bag litter on wildlife is well documented. A
persistent in the environment and have significant aesthetic and          South East Queensland study found 54% of pelagic and 25% of
wildlife impacts.                                                         benthic marine turtles had ingested plastic marine debris. Studies
Because they can take hundreds of years to break down, plastics           also indicate that turtles select clear or white soft buoyant plastics,
can have long-term impacts on the environment, including posing           some of which resemble their natural prey such as jellyfish.
a threat to marine life and contributing to flooding due to blocking      A 2016 assessment of the ecological threat posed by the most
drains and waterways.                                                     common types of coastal litter found that, apart from discarded
In addition, many plastics will break down into small fragments,          fishing gear, plastic bags posed the greatest threat to seabirds,
which increase the plastic (and chemical) load in the environment.        turtles and marine mammals through ingestion, entanglement and
                                                                          contamination. The report noted that:
When plastic bags break down into small fragments (known
as microplastics) the chemical additives are able to enter the                ‘Plastic bags generally have handles which pose an
environment. Environmental and health exposure to plastic-related
chemical compounds does not occur in isolation but as a ‘cocktail
                                                                              entanglement risk as well as a three-dimensional
effect’ of mixed plastics in the environment.                                 structure that creates a space in which an animal
Plastics in the ocean also absorb other chemicals and toxins that
                                                                              or parts of an animal can become entwined; indeed
may be present. If these chemicals are ingested by marine animals,            plastic bags have been shown to entangle pinnipeds
humans will also ingest them by eating the contaminated fish.                 [seals] … compared to most other consumer plastic
Aside from chemical toxicity, plastics in the marine environment              items, plastic bags pose one of the greatest impacts
pose significant ingestion and choking hazards to numerous marine             to ocean wildlife and thus, from an environmental
species, including turtles, birds, zooplankton and corals. Plastic does       impact perspective, plastic bags warrant the specific
not break down in the animals’ digestive system so its presence,              attention they have received from governments and
even in small amounts, can cause starvation and a build-up of gases
in the body cavity that contributes to floating disease in turtles.
                                                                              advocates to address their usage.’ (Wilcox et al 2016).
                                                                          Plastics, including plastic bags, have significant littering potential.
                                                                          Plastics are a significant contributor to the litter stream and marine
                                                                          debris and contribute the largest volume of scattered material found
                                                                          in open spaces such as beaches, highways and recreational parks.
                                                                          Flexible plastics such as bags are highly mobile and easily blown
                                                                          into inaccessible places on land and into waterways.
                                                                          As well as the impact on wildlife, plastic bags are unsightly in the
                                                                          environment, creating visual pollution.




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