Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, launches the No Plastic Bags website and asks shoppers to refuse one plastic bag a day until the end of the year.
Plastic bag use reduced by 34%
In Australia, the major supermarket chains recently recorded a 34% reduction in the number of plastic bags handed out since 2002. This means plastic bag use in supermarkets has been slashed by 1.5 billion bags!
This isn't the end of the road for the major supermarkets though. They have made an agreement with the Australian Government and state and territory governments to cut plastic bag use by 50% by the end of 2005.
Supermarkets only account for half of all lightweight plastic carry bags issued. The other half come from retailers such as newsagents, pharmacies, corner and convenience stores, hardware stores, bakeries, greengrocers and take-aways. To stop plastic carry bags from littering our waterways and harming our wildlife, all bag-issuing retailers must take action.
Around the world
Countries around the world are taking action to reduce plastic bag use. Bosnia, Ireland, Kenya, Bangladesh and a growing number of American cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento are among many places that have committed to reducing plastic bag use or getting rid of them altogether.
Most recently, the western Indian state of Maharashtra banned the manufacture, sale and use of all types of plastic bags after they choked the drainage systems during recent monsoon rains and caused extensive flooding across the state.
© 2005 No Plastic Bags
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3 comments:
Thanks for that, Devyani. Wouldn't it be nice if our government and businesses also started taking such an interest?
Maybe we'll set and example and show them the way!
Rajiv
good one devyani and this proves that australia is doing their bit against plastics
sukanya
Hope by starting this campaign of ours we are also able to make a notable reduction in the amount of plastic being used
sukanya
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