The campaign to stop the use of plastic bags in shops has been in the pipeline for a long time, but if we are serious about protecting our environment it needs to be stepped up a notch.
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Many stores have intoduced initiatives to encourage customers to take up other options. Fabric bags are available to buy as an alternative to those supplied, in some cases you have to buy your own bags as none are supplied at the counter – although the plastic option is still available - and in some locations boxes for packing are also available.
All of these concepts are a step in the right direction but the fact remains that while ever plastic bags are available, for free or at a minimal cost, at the counter many people will continue to use them.
No doubt the choice will be driven by different reasons – it’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s available or simply because the customer forgot to bring their own bags.
The softly softly approach to changing the habits of people as far as the use of plastic bags is concerned has gone on for long enough. If we are really serious about protecting the environment then we need to get serious about how we pack our purchases at the shops.
A study conducted by researchers from several countries, including Australia, and published in the journal Science recently estimates there are 11.1 billion plastic items entangled in coral reefs from Thailand to the Great Barrier Reef.
In Australia, there is some good news about the move to abate plastic waste. The Keep Australia Beautiful Litter Index, which is the nation's only long-term survey of litter, found that plastic bag litter was significantly lower in states where they are banned. Bans are in place in Tasmania, the ACT, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia have vowed to phase them out this year, leaving NSW as the only state without a ban or a plan for one.
Harris Farm Markets has stopped offering single-use plastic bags at the checkouts, the first major retailer to do so, and is encouraging customers to bring their own bag or take a recycled box from the store. Meanwhile Woolworths announced last year that it would phase out bags at the checkout by July 1, 2018.
This is all good news for the environment, but we the consumers also need to get serious about our shopping habits.
