STRIFE IN PLASTIC, NOT FANTASTIC
BAG BAN CONTROVERSY
GOLD Coast marine life will be one of the big winners of a plastic bag ban and container refund scheme that could cut Queensland’s plastic litter by a staggering 50 per cent.
State parliament has unanimously passed laws that will see single-use plastic bags outlawed from July next year.
Queensland will also have a new container refund scheme, with most beverage containers to attract a 10-cent refund to stop them ending up in waterways and the sea.
The Australian Marine Conservation Society said Queensland was the most polluted state in Australia, with the Keep Australia Beautiful Litter Index putting the incidence of litter 41 per cent higher than the national average.
“Eleven items of plastic, on average, are found along every metre of beach from the Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast,” AMCS marine campaigner James Cordwell said.
“This new law has the potential to reduce Queensland’s plastic litter by half.”
The latest technology will be used to make it easy for people to turn rubbish into cash, with reverse vending machines to be rolled out, providing instant refunds.
Environment Minister Steven Miles said passing the Bill gave children hope for their future.
“An estimated 2.4 billion beverage containers and one billion lightweight plastic shopping bags are used in Queensland every year. These are ending up in our waterways and killing and maiming our native animals,” he said.
“Many of the most passionate advocates for these reforms are Queensland schoolchildren. By passing this Bill we say to our young people that we value our wildlife, especially our marine creatures like turtles, sea birds and dugongs.”
Environmental group Tangaroa Blue managing director Heidi Taylor welcomed the ban.
“When you look at the data of beach clean-ups it looks like plastic bags only make up a small percentage of litter, but when you look at fragments of those bags it’s a much more significant impact,” she said.
“Turtles are significantly affected by plastic bags, but once the bags are ripped up and turned into strips they can be eaten by just about any animal and can get tangled on sea birds.”
Former fisherman Thomas Ferriday has seen the devastation caused by plastic bags.
“It’s killing the environment. I’ve seen probably two dozen dead turtles floating in my career. It’s all getting into our ecosystems, that’s why I totally support a ban.”
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