SHOPPERS are being urged to bin plastic bags for the month of July to reduce pollution across bayside beaches and parks.
Plastic Free July calls on people to refuse to use single-use plastic bags when shopping for a month to hopefully get into the habit of taking reusable bags to carry goods and groceries.
The littering of plastic bags is an environmental hazard and potential killer of animals who can choke on the bags.
The Greens are lobbying the state government to bring Victoria into line with other states such as South Australia and the Northern Territory in “banning” plastic bags at shops.
“Our oceans and beaches are increasingly being choked by plastic rubbish,” Upper House South Eastern Metropolitan region Greens MP Nina Springle said.
“It’s a blight on our recreational spaces and a stress on our waste management system. Much of it makes its way into the ocean where it’s devastating marine life around the world.
“We can’t continue picking up trash forever. We have to stop plastic pollution at source.”
A petition calling on the state government to support a plastic ban can be signed at plasticfreesea.com.au online.
The bill, if passed, would ban single-use plastic bags, cosmetic microbes and “unnecessary plastic packaging” across Victoria.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 5 July 2017
2 Comments
What do u call single use plastic bags because every plastic bag can be reused. I use my plastic shopping bags to put rubbish into at home. You can always use the plastic shopping bags for your next trip to the supermarket if it doesnt break first.
The down side to using shopping bags as bin liners, Bruce, is that the plastic never go away. They only break up in to smaller pieces which leach chemicals in to the soil.
Boomerang Bags has a great video on youtube which shows how you can make bin liners from old newspapers. Food scraps, for example, can also be composted. The compost is great for use on a home veggie garden, even if its a small one. I personally put mine in my worm farm and use the castings in a blend with soil and the liquid as liquid fertiliser – the results of which are amazing!