Peter Garrett considers plan for full ban on plastic bags

[kaska]

 http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23031593-2,00.html
PLASTIC shopping bags may be banned from Australia by the end of the year, under plans being considered by Environment Minister Peter Garrett.

The federal government is looking to either impose a levy on each bag, or ban the bags outright, a newspaper report claims.

A spokesman for Mr Garrett

Comments

[rowie1]

I think it's an awesome idea.

[kaska]

Very much agreed

[teztez]

Im 50/50
Old bags are great for rubbish/wet clothes/putting things in.
I think its a good idea to charge people for plastic bags. Like an environment tax.
I always forget to take my green bags to the shops.

[kaska]

very true, they are great for that.

I'm hoping that if people are no longer provided with free plastic bags for groceries they would be forced to find alternatives, maybe it would take quite a a few annoying trips to the supermarkets, but eventually the public may subconsciously make it second nature to grab the green bags when heading out the door to do shopping...
*finger crossed*

That's not a bad idea, but would people pay per bag? or a general tax to everybody?

[teztez]

I know that if I had to pay for bags... itd make me remember to bring my reusables!

I think about 5c per bag. And send it to some environment fund.
That way people can still re use them also.

[kaska]

anon??

i would remember also, i think low income families or anyone on a tight budget would make a conscious effort to remember them.

5c for a bag is not a bad idea, it would be a start to making people aware of how many bags are used or disregarded unnecessarily

[dungeoncandy]

i'm not a fan of phasing out plastic bags, they have storage uses and such, also plastic have stronger handles than paper and easier to mold to the shape of items in the bag.

what about cardboard boxes instead?

i'd have to go with the major supermarkets, i'm sure they've sussed out the situation in more detail with customer demands and such.

i can see what the evironmentalists are saying, but i think it's one of those ideas that sounds better in writing then application.

[kaska]

The green bags are awesome for filling with groceries and because the handles are fabric and quite wide it doesnt dig into the fingers as much.

you are very right - plastic bags do have storage uses and such, but maybe without them we will learn to find other ways to store our things

Cardboard boxes are ok, but for little old people or people with disabilities that might be a little tricky... but as an alternative for all who can - i'm for the use of boxes

it will be interesting to see where this goes

[dungeoncandy]

yeh, we should be able to adapt with storage.

the green fabric bags sound like the best idea.

the problem or issue i would think is the cost of them.

oh, i wonder what the situation would be with the small plastic bags for fruit??

[dungeoncandy]

oh, and i'm rather curious if it will hit takeaway venues aswell.

i once worked in a place that used both plastic and paper bags. the paper didn't work for some products (heat/moisture i think)and had to be put in plastic bags.

i'm unsure if the both the fish and chip places and chinese/thai/asian/takeaway places that use the plastic containers would like paper bags, but i guess i can't really speak for them.

[omglaserspewpew]

I use about three different plastic bags for miscellaneous stuff per day.

Damn politics and their bossing my lifestyle around habits.

I'll challenge him in the ring, one on one, before I allow him to tell me what to do.

[kaska]

how about that bag over your shoulder which can be partially seen in your user pic, thats pretty cool - could that do the job of the 3 plastic bags?

yeah - damn politics and trying to protect our surroundings ;)

lol, if a bout in the ring would make you feel better about giving up plastic bags - then i'm all for it

[omglaserspewpew]

That's my trendy laptop bag. I can't put garbage stuff in there.

If politics really cared about our surroundings, then they'd put something toxic in our drinking water - so Australia can grow back to it's natural form.

[kaska]

Bin the rubbish and I think genocide is kind of frowned upon, regardless of the good intentions behind it

[str8bi]

I'm torn on this as well.
I know the idea is good but I use plastic bags for so many things.
Also you have to pay for green bags and that adds to the bill at the end of the day. Maybe for you and for me and other people this is not such a big issue but for struggling families who already have to deal with rising oil prices and interest rates this could cause problems.
It may mean that they have to buy one or two less treats for their kids etc.
I think it is an issue that would need to be throughly looked into it.

[kaska]

I think it would take a bit to adjust but eventually I have no doubt that everyone could function ok with plastic bags.

Struggling families I think would be the ones hit the hardest, but I think struggling families might also be the ones make the most difference because they will be making a conscious effort to preserve their $, for example if people have to pay for bags, they may be more likely to keep a stash in the car or by the front door which they *fingers crossed* remember to take when they go shopping.

[str8bi]

Yeah but they still have to pay for them upfront if they don't have any.
And then if they do forget they have to pay for them again.
I just think there are more implications then simply the environmental ones re: plastic bags.

Also it means that people would have to start buying garbage bags to put their rubbish instead of using plastic bags they have purchased for free. This is more money to be sent.

We would be able to function without them but there are just other issues here that need to be looked at.

[kaska]

yep - this is harsh, but I think if it goes through this way people should have to keep paying until it is an important enough necessity to remember the bags.
This is a generalisation - but i find people on very tight budgets plan the shopping and have shopping lists so they don't buy more of one thing when they really needed something else, maybe if a shopping list is remembered - the bags can easily be remember too.

Yes, people would have to start buying the bags for their bins, but this may mean everyone starts to take more notice of what they are putting in the bags, like instead of putting in a cereal box because the recycling bin is outside, the person may make the extra effort to walk outside so they can save the space in the bag for actual rubbish and prolonging the need to grab a new bag.

maybe for low income families on payments they may could introduce a grocery allowance (like travel allowance) to ease the initial strain?