Page 5805 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 7 December 2010
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Last month, the Tasmanian parliament agreed unanimously on a motion calling for a ban on plastic shopping bags in that state. The Tasmanian Liberals shadow minister on the environment, Matthew Groom, said this about it:
While many in our community have embraced this change already, we do believe that there is a justification for sensible government policy to encourage others to do so. Unfortunately, Tasmanians have seen very little in the way of sound, sensible environmental policy from this Labor Government over its 12 years in office …
… we can recycle better and the Government has a role to play to encourage awareness and promote practical action to improve these and other waste-related issues. We should make Tasmania a plastic-bag-free State …
The State Labor Government continually procrastinates, defers decisions and appears to find excuses not to take action on these issues.
That is right; this is what the Liberal shadow minister for the environment said. He criticised the government for finding excuses not to take action on a plastic bag ban. It is ironic to find that today that is what the Leader of the Opposition has been doing. He has basically been saying—he has entirely been saying—that there should be no action on plastic bags in the ACT. I appreciate that Tasmania has waterways around it—a bit closer than the ACT—but I cannot think of any other difference between the two and I really cannot understand the position of the Liberal Party here. I must admit that I am disappointed by it. It is a bit embarrassing to find that the Liberal Party here seems to be behind even its own party in other states.
The case is clear that moving away from these single-use plastic bags will have significant benefits for the environment. Research has been done by Sustainability Victoria, which assessed a range of shopping bag alternatives across different environmental criteria and found that shifting from plastic bags to more durable bags would deliver environmental gains through reductions in greenhouse gases, energy and water use, resource depletion and litter.
Some people have raised the concern that the common supermarket green bag is in fact no better than a one-use plastic bag. Again, the important factor here is our habits and behaviour. Green bags are also made from a type of plastic, so it is important that they are reused over a number of years. Provided a green bag is used for about two years, it will be better for the environment than the standard lightweight plastic bag. Green bags can also be recycled and do not end up harming the landscape and wildlife, as lightweight plastic bags tend to do.
There is nothing in the legislation, however, that requires people to use plastic green bags. There are a large number of good alternatives to green bags, including reusable nylon bags; bags made from recycled plastics; and calico bags, which I have had a number of for at least 15 years. There are the string shopping bags that our mothers used; they are long lasting, generally washable and an excellent environmental alternative to any type of plastic bag. I also think that customers may find them much more durable and convenient than the supermarket green bags.
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