Plastic Bag Ban

Consultation has concluded


The purpose of this survey is to establish a position from the community on possible plastic bag bans, so that this may inform a position for Council to adopt.

Background

The extent of plastic bag pollution occurring in terrestrial and marine environments has become a serious problem recognised at the international level. There is now a substantial body of evidence, on the impact that plastic is having on the environment.

The information gathered by Clean Up Australia through its annual clean up days, suggests that between 30-50 million plastic bags could be entering the Australian environment as litter every year.

Western Australia was found to have one of the highest levels of plastic pollution in the country, particularly along the Perth coast.

The Western Australian Local Government Association has asked councils whether they would support a state-wide ban on single-use plastic shopping bags.

It would bring Western Australia in-line with South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, which have all banned shops from selling or giving away lightweight plastic bags; whilst Queensland, Victoria and NSW are working on a joint approach to bagless shopping.

Since South Australia banned plastic bags in 2009, 80 per cent of people now take their own bags when grocery shopping and plastic bag litter has halved in three years.

Thank you for participating

Thank you to those who responded to the plastic ban survey. There was a great deal of interest and healthy discussion on the topic.

The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) requested council's input on whether they would support a statewide ban on single-use plastic shopping bags.

The key motivations for Local Government in Western Australia in seeking to act on plastic bags are to:

  • Reduce litter in the terrestrial and marine environment; this reduces impacts on the environment and the need for resource intensive clean-ups.
  • Reduce plastic bag contamination of alternative waste treatment plants and composting facilities; this increases the value of the compost and reduces the amount of pre-treatment necessary.

The purpose of the Town's plastic bag ban survey was to establish a position from the community on possible plastic bag bans, so that this may inform a position for the Town.

170 people responded to the survey. Amongst our respondents there was support for the plastic bag, with 158 voting "Yes", 14 voting "No".

The next step is that these results will be relayed to WALGA for consideration in the development of a state-wide policy position.

Again, thanks for your thoughts.


The purpose of this survey is to establish a position from the community on possible plastic bag bans, so that this may inform a position for Council to adopt.

Background

The extent of plastic bag pollution occurring in terrestrial and marine environments has become a serious problem recognised at the international level. There is now a substantial body of evidence, on the impact that plastic is having on the environment.

The information gathered by Clean Up Australia through its annual clean up days, suggests that between 30-50 million plastic bags could be entering the Australian environment as litter every year.

Western Australia was found to have one of the highest levels of plastic pollution in the country, particularly along the Perth coast.

The Western Australian Local Government Association has asked councils whether they would support a state-wide ban on single-use plastic shopping bags.

It would bring Western Australia in-line with South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, which have all banned shops from selling or giving away lightweight plastic bags; whilst Queensland, Victoria and NSW are working on a joint approach to bagless shopping.

Since South Australia banned plastic bags in 2009, 80 per cent of people now take their own bags when grocery shopping and plastic bag litter has halved in three years.

Thank you for participating

Thank you to those who responded to the plastic ban survey. There was a great deal of interest and healthy discussion on the topic.

The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) requested council's input on whether they would support a statewide ban on single-use plastic shopping bags.

The key motivations for Local Government in Western Australia in seeking to act on plastic bags are to:

  • Reduce litter in the terrestrial and marine environment; this reduces impacts on the environment and the need for resource intensive clean-ups.
  • Reduce plastic bag contamination of alternative waste treatment plants and composting facilities; this increases the value of the compost and reduces the amount of pre-treatment necessary.

The purpose of the Town's plastic bag ban survey was to establish a position from the community on possible plastic bag bans, so that this may inform a position for the Town.

170 people responded to the survey. Amongst our respondents there was support for the plastic bag, with 158 voting "Yes", 14 voting "No".

The next step is that these results will be relayed to WALGA for consideration in the development of a state-wide policy position.

Again, thanks for your thoughts.

Consultation has concluded

Want more information? Ask us a question.

  • Perhaps the tip could be, use conpostable waste bin liner bags (see Balingup and Donnybrook shires deal for residents) and also run workshops for bin liners made from newspaper in origami style. Let's ban plastic bag. We want Albany to do this!

    Lara Norman asked about 7 years ago

    Hello Lara

    Many thanks for your thoughts on this topic.

    Agreed, that is a great point.

    A colleague sent me the below link re: using newspaper as an alternative bin liner:

    http://treadingmyownpath.com/2013/04/20/how-toline-your-rubbish-bin-without-a-plastic-bag/

    Thanks again

  • I operate a shoe repair business within the town and use recycled plastic bags for my shop. Would this ban prevent me from using these 2nd hand plastic bags. I have a number of customers who drop off unwanted grey plastic bags which we then use. Cheers, Joe

    Reids Bootmakers asked about 7 years ago

    Hi Joe

    Thanks for your query.

    If you have to use plastic bags for your business, its great that you make use of recycled bags as you have mentioned.  Recycling them for other purposes, be it for business, shopping etc is the next best thing.

  • I like the idea of banning plastic bags, but the downside for me is that I use them to line my bin. If plastic bags are banned, what alternative is there to line a bin with? If we end up just having to buy plastic bags for our bins, is that any better?

    Alex asked about 7 years ago

    Thanks for your query.

    Completely understand what you are saying regarding use of plastic bags as bin liners.

    As an alternative, Keep Australia Beautiful Council recommends that, rather than use plastic bags as bin liners, simply wash your bin insert weekly or as needed so that waste goes straight into your green bin.  You could even start a compost to dispose of wet waste.

    Hope this helps.

    Thanks