Life after plastic

From 4 May, any South Australian retailer caught giving plastic bags to customers will be hit with a harsh fine for ignoring the latest in green government: the plastic bag ban. Since 2002, the folks in the south have been pushing for a national agenda on plastic bags, wanting the notorious wildlife killers phased out through levies or bans. In April 2008, the federal Minister for the Environment and his state and territory equivalents failed to deliver a national approach on the issue. Now, SA is going it alone.

Bag ban basics

Just so we’re clear, the SA ban is not a total ban. Although the ban applies to all retailers, large and small, only bags made with certain materials and with certain thicknesses will be vetoed. In general terms, the ban applies to the really thin sort of plastic bags you get from supermarkets and includes ‘biodegradable bags’. This is because biodegradable bags don’t fully decompose; they just break down into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic which stay in the environment for hundreds of years. Should your local Woolies get caught handing out banned bags, either for free or with a charge, they’ll face a hefty fine of up to $5000.

So, for those of you in SA, start collecting old plastic bags for re-use or make do with these acceptable bagging alternatives:

• Paper, compostable plastic and heavier retail bags (like the Myer bags)
• Barrier bags (the type dispensed from a roll to put your fruit and veg in)
• Sturdy, multiple use bags like the ‘green’ bags

But will it work?

The idea is not a new one. Plastic bag bans have been put in place in countries in Africa and South East Asia, where bags have been wreaking environmental havoc similar to that in Australia. Italy will adopt the same bag banning policy in 2010, and France and England will follow suit over the next couple years.

The bag ban has been tried and tested, and it works. If they’re not being made, they’re not harming the environment. In SA alone, banning plastic bags will stop around 400 million plastic bags winding up as litter or landfill annually. It will help prevent the 100,000 wildlife deaths caused by plastic litter every year, and will cut greenhouse emissions. This is why Planet Ark, the Greens, and Clean Up Australia are all for the initiative. Ian Kiernan, Chairman of Clean Up Australia, said that anything less would be ‘environmentally negligent.’

The great plastic debate

Even so, it seems that not everyone is ready for life after plastic.

There is dissent amongst the public. High on the public’s list of complaints is no longer having the option to pay or not pay for a bag and the added cost of buying green bags. However, as John Dee, head of the National Plastic Bag Campaign explains, supermarkets integrate the cost of plastic bags into the price of groceries. So in fact, you’re already paying for plastic bags—every time you shop, whether you like it or not.

Critics are also questioning just how environmentally friendly green bags really are. Green bags are made from plastic and do not decompose any better than your standard plastic bag. However, research shows that green bags are about as green as it gets. They are re-useable, don’t use as many harmful materials, and generate less greenhouse emissions than cloth, plastic or paper bags. Though they won’t break down in landfill, they can be recycled into long lasting plastic items such as park benches.

Recycling free shopping bags as bin liners is a surprisingly common argument for plastic bags. Unfortunately, using plastic bags as bin liners, bags for your wet swimmers, or to clean up after your pooch, isn’t actually recycling. They still wind up in landfill. This is re-using, and as great at it is, it doesn’t solve the environmental problem caused by plastic bags. There is no real reason why people need to start buying bin liners. Our grandparents got by without them, and so can we. If you’re worried about losing your free bin liners, use the plastic bags still available after the ban, or start saving some of the thousands of bags already in circulation.

From a business perspective, Richard Evans, from the Australian Retailers Association, told the ABC, `the state government is only seeking cheap political credits’ and was failing to work with retailers to find solutions to the plastic problem. However, the SA government first put plastic bags on the agenda back in 2002, and has been working with retailers and unions to resolve the issue since 2006. Businesses have been consulted and have had the time to adapt or come up with alternatives.

All in all, life after plastic is possible. There was a time, not so long ago, when people lived without plastic bags and survived just fine. There’s no real reason why SA, and the rest of the country, can’t do the same. There’s no doubt that the ban will be an adjustment, and that not everyone will be happy with it, but the plastic bag ban is an environmental move worth pursuing.

How do I know this?

2008, ‘5 billion reasons why NSW should follow SA and ban the plastic bag,’ Ian Cohen Media Release, 18/6/08, viewed 25/03/09, http://www.iancohen.org.au/mediarelease.aspx?id=334

2008, ‘Applause for SA plastic bag ban,’ ABC Riverland SA, 18/4/2008, viewed 26/03/09, http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/18/2220560.htm?site=riverland

2008, ‘BYO Bags,’ Government of South Australia, viewed 26/03/09, http://www.byobags.com.au

2008, ‘No national levy or ban on plastic bags,’ The Age, 17/4/08, viewed 26/03/09, http://news.theage.com.au/national/no-national-levy-or-ban-on-plastic-bags-20080417-26p9.html

2008, ‘National plastic bag ban now needed following SA’s lead,’ Clean Up Australia Media Release, 13/11/08, viewed 26/3/09, http://www.cleanup.com.au/au/NewsandMedia/national-plastic-bag-ban-now-needed-following-sa-s-lead.html

2008, ‘Planned SA plastic bag ban angers retailers,’ ABC, 19/6/08, viewed 25/3/09, http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/19/2279165.html

2008, Plastic Bag Ban, South Australian Government, viewed 17/3/09, http://www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au/About.mvc/PlasticBags
2007, ‘SA push for national plastic bag ban,’ Government of South Australia, 02/06/2007, viewed 26/03/09, http://www.ministers.sa.gov.au/news.php?id=1689

2008, ‘SA to ban plastic bags by 2009,’ The Australian, 02/03/08, viewed 26/03/09, http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,23306190-2702,00.html?from=public_rss

2008, ‘South Australia's plastic bag ban plan divides readers,’ Adelaide Now, 19/4/08, viewed 17/3/09, http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23560174-5006301,00.html

2008, ‘South Australia leads rest of Australia to ban plastic bags,’ Clean Up Australia Media Release, 18/6/08, viewed 17/3/09, http://www.cleanup.org.au/au/NewsandMedia/south-australia-to-ban-plastic-bags.html

Environment Protection & Heritage Council, 2008, ‘Executive Summary,’ ‘Evaluation of Options,’ & ‘Conclusion,’ Decision Regulatory Impact Statement – Investigation of options to reduce the impacts of plastic bags, viewed 26/03/09, http://nepc.gov.au/sites/default/files/
PS_PBag__Decision_RIS__Options_to_
Reduce_Impacts__incl_AppendicesCD_200805.pdf