Supermarkets Fail Plastic Bag Test: Regulation Needed
Thursday, 05 July 2007 20:58
“The survey results are a testimony to the failure of the voluntary approach to reducing plastic bags” said Jeff Angel, TEC Director.
The survey, Supermarket Shame: City of Sydney Plastic Bag Survey 2007 , found that:
* In 67% of cases checkout operators automatically handed out a free plastic bag, without asking if one is required, even when 3 item or less were bought.
* 64% of shoppers used a free plastic bag while 32% brought their own bag;
* 42% of supermarkets in the City of Sydney area had no recycling bin. All IGA branches have no recycling facilities
* 65% of supermarkets have no promotional material aimed at reducing plastic bag use
City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover said: "The survey results expose the Code as nothing but a delaying tactic, and enforceable legislative action is needed for a better and faster outcome. Government inaction is allowing billions of plastic bags every year to go to landfill, litter our streets, pollute our waterways and damage our marine life.
Plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to break down - they create long-term problems that generations to come will have to deal with. The Government should stop bowing to industry pressure and take urgent action to ban lightweight plastic bags, encourage the use of reusable alternatives to plastic and provide levies on other disposable plastic bags”
The community has vocalised its concerns over the impacts of plastic bags and Government inaction. 81 community groups across NSW joined to urge the NSW Government to ban free plastic bags, but although the NSW government has had the power to regulate plastic bag use, it has been too timid to do the job.
“We can not let retailers delay regulation any longer. Its time environment ministers called ‘time up’ and regulate, every year we delay means more litter and Greenhouse gas pollution are created, and precious resources are wasted” Mr. Angel said.
Governments around the world have regulated to reduce plastic bag use, including Ireland, South Africa, India, Victoria, most recently San Francisco banned plastic bags from supermarkets.
Mr. Angel said, “Only a ban on the light weight bags and a levy on the alternative throw-away bags will make a dramatic impact on the 4 billion bags consumed annually. A levy alone will not be sufficient to make the necessary cuts, since experience has shown people will simply absorb the cost and continue to consume plastic bags” said Mr Angel.
