Page 1883 - Week 06 - Thursday, 5 June 2014
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proportion of primary shoppers who oppose the ban have fallen from 33 per cent to 26 per cent. When asked if they would prefer to have the ban overturned, 71 per cent of primary shoppers disagreed. This is consistent with responses from the 2012 survey. Furthermore, a substantial majority of respondents agreed that the ban has had a positive effect on the environment.
With regard to the ban’s impact on litter in the territory, the interim review noted that, while litter was seen to reduce in the immediate post-ban period, there was insufficient data available at the time to determine whether the ban has had an impact on the number of plastic shopping bags in the ACT’s litter stream. Data provided by the Keep Australia Beautiful national litter index audits, adding a further three data points to the interim review in November 2012, May 2013 and November 2013, shows an ongoing reduction in plastic bag litter following the ban’s introduction.
In the four Keep Australia Beautiful audits conducted since the ban was implemented, an average of less than nine plastic bags were found for each audit compared to the pre-ban average of 22 bags. Furthermore, the analysis shows that, while there has been an increase in the sales and distribution of heavier boutique-style shopping bags, their presence in the litter stream has not increased in the post-ban period. This latter point would indicate that these reusable bags are being put to a more valuable use rather than being unduly discarded.
With the assistance of major shopping retailers, the review also analysed the effectiveness of the ban in reducing plastic generation by assessing store data on changes in volumes of sales of bin liners and reusable shopping bags. The data available to the government showed that the number of bags being distributed has decreased substantially following the introduction of the ban. In the six months period immediately prior to the ban, approximately 26 million single-use plastic shopping bags were distributed through supermarkets in the ACT. This equated to around 182 tonnes of plastic that ultimately ended up in Canberra’s landfill.
In comparison, the review has found that the number of boutique-style bags distributed in the territory numbered around four million in the six months to 31 October 2013 and, even though these bags are heavier than the single-use plastic shopping bags they replaced, their combined weight totals only around 114 tonnes, a reduction in plastic bag waste of 36 per cent. In addition, the review has not identified a substantial increase in sales of bin liners following the ban’s introduction.
Retailer compliance to the ban is monitored by the ACT government Office of Regulatory Services within the Justice and Community Safety Directorate. The Office of Regulatory Services reported in the six months immediately prior to the ban that they undertook 1,734 inspections to determine if retailers were preparing for the ban and to educate retailers with regard to their responsibilities. From the introduction of the ban until October 2013, ORS undertook a further 714 inspections.
Of the retailers inspected since the introduction of the ban, there have been four breaches detected in contravention of the act. Two businesses were given verbal warnings and two were given formal written warnings. No infringement notices have been issued.
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