Plastic Bags

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Title: Plastic Bags

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Plastic Bags

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What is the problem?

Australians dump 7,150 recyclable plastic bags
into landfills every minute.
Australians use more than 10 million new plastic
shopping bags every day which equates to 3.92
billion each year.

If these 3.92 billion plastic bags were tied
together, they would circle the globe 24 times!
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Clean Up Australia Day statistics

Each year, Clean Up Australia Day identifies
plastic as the major source of rubbish throughout
Australia.
One-third of all items collected are plastic,
with almost one in 10 of these being plastic
bags.
This sums up to almost half a million plastic
bags we collect each year.

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Whats in a plastic bag?

There are 2 types of plastic bags
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) bagsthin bags
used by more than 80 of retailers. These can be
easily recycled.
Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)the thicker bags
often used in department and boutique stores.
While these bags can be recycled, there are few
collection points for recycling.

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What types of plastic bags?

Be wary of biodegradable and degradable plastic
bags
Standards have only recently been developed for
biodegradable bags ask your retailer to show
that the bags have passed relevant international
standards.
Degradable bags just break into smaller pieces
and can be even more damaging to flora and fauna.

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Whats the effect on the environment?

There are about 46,000 pieces of plastic floating
in each square mile of our oceans.
It is estimated that plastic kills up to 1
million sea birds, 100,000 sea mammals and
countless fish each year.

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We need to see the bigger picture

When oil, gas and coal are used to produce
plastic bags, they emit dangerous greenhouse
gasses. The burning of gasses also creates
emissions of toxic gasses, dioxins and heavy
metals.
Bags escape and float easily in air and water,
travelling long distances.
When animals which have ingested bags die and
decay, the plastic is free again to repeat the
deadly cycle.
Do dont forget it is not just us that plastic
can affect!

11
What does Clean Up Australia do?

CUA lobbies for a complete national ban of
single-use plastic bags.
SA recently banned lightweight plastic check out
bags CUA urges all Australian states to follow.
CUA attends various government meetings including
the Environmental Protection Heritage Council and
urges government to address the issue of plastic
bags.
CUA has a Plastic bag fact sheet which can be
downloaded.
The CUA website includes a comprehensive section
on the issue of plastic bags.
CUA encourages retailers to phase out plastic
bags and introduce reusable bags.

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So what can you do?

You can make a difference just by changing some
simple habits
Plastic bags can be returned to supermarkets for
recycling, most larger supermarkets recycle bags.
Ask for the recycling bin.
Green (polypropylene) bags can be recycled at
local councils or Coles and Bi-Lo stores OR you
can contact your local council to see if they
collect or have drop-off points for recycling
Councils, schools and community groups can sign
up as ambassadors to run bag swaps, design
reusable bags and get local shops on board

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So what can you do?

And here are some simple tips for home
Before recycling, turn bags inside out and remove
any receipts and food scraps contamination can
cause problems in production and prevent recycled
plastic from being used
Avoid using plastic bags as bin liners. Simply
put your rubbish straight into your household bin
and give the bin a quick rinse afterwards, then
reuse the water on your garden. OR Three layers
of broadsheet newspaper as a bin liner can also
work well.

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What can retailers do?