NSW Government drags the chain on single use plastic ban

AS thousands of residents across NSW participate in the global Plastic Free July movement, NSW Labor is calling on the State Government to ban single-use plastic bags.

Every other Australian state and territory has taken action to ban the bags.

Since 2016, the Liberals and Nationals have voted down Labor’s parliamentary bill to ban single use plastic bags on four separate occasions while promising to act on the issue, but failing to deliver.

South Australia introduced a ban on single use plastic bags in 2009, and is now considering phasing out other disposable items such as plastic straws and cutlery.

“We know that 130,000 tonnes of plastic pollution makes its way into Australian waterways and oceans each year, strangling marine life and contaminating our environment. In NSW, two billion plastic bags are used every year, and we know that 50 million of those bags end up polluting our environment and harming our wildlife.”

“This issue isn’t going away so the Berejiklian Government should stop stalling. The rest of Australia, and communities like Dungog, are leading the way. We don’t need leadership. We just need action,” Labor’s Shadow Environment Minister Kate Washington said.