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Ban on plastic bags will reduce deaths of marine life

Clean Up Australia Chairman Ian Kiernan AO said today that introducing a ban on plastic bags would help to reduce the number of marine life killed by swallowing or being tangled in plastic bags.

Mr Kiernan said comments by Environment Minister Peter Garrett that action on plastic bags will occur by the end of the year are a welcome step forward.

"The Australian community has repeatedly said they support a ban on plastic bags," Mr Kiernan said. "A ban on plastic shopping bags would lead to a reduction in the number of whales and other marine life, including birds, killed.

"We know that only 2 to 3 per cent of plastic bags are recycled, which still means most simply end up in the environment and something like 3.76 billion plastic bags still going to landfills. That's more than 20,000 tonnes of plastic every year. A ban is the only way to reduce this problem.

"Almost 4 billion plastic bags are still being produced for Australian use every year. The rubbish problem they create, the detriment they cause to kerbside recycling systems and the resources and energy used to produce them are something that cannot be justified."

Many Australian towns and communities are already declared plastic bag free - Coles Bay in Tasmania was the first to introduce a ban, followed by others such as Huskisson on Jervis Bay in NSW.

A fixed levy on plastic bags would hit low-income earners harder than high-income earners, Mr Kiernan said.

"A levy absolves people of responsibility. Paying a tax for the privilege of using a product justifies its use and that is the crux of the issue."

To produce the 3.76 billion plastic bags that Australians used each year, 784,000 barrels of oil are burnt, adding to damaging greenhouse gas emissions.

"China has announced it will introduce a ban on plastic bags. This follows many other countries and cities, such as San Francisco, and confirms that ban is the way forward. Over 40 countries around the world are currently taking action to get rid of plastic bags.