Plastic Bags an awful load of rubbish.
What’s the problem?
Australians use more than 10 million new plastic
shopping bags every day.
That equates to 3.92 billion plastic bags each year.
Each year, the average household is responsible for using 502
bags(1).
(1) Department of Environment and Heritage, Plastic Retail Carry Bag Use 2002-2005 Consumption – end of year report
– Hyder Consulting.
Australians dump 7,150 recyclable plastic
bags into landfills every minute
Clean Up Australia Day - statistics
• Each year, Clean Up Australia Day identifies plastic as
the major source of rubbish throughout Australia.
• We collect almost half a million plastic bags each
year.
• Some one-third of all items collected are plastic, with
almost one in 10 of these being plastic bags.
Did you know – Australians are the second-highest producers of waste per
person, after the US?
What’s in a bag?
There are 2 types of plastic bags:
1. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) bags – thin bags used by more
than 80% of retailers. These can be easily recycled.
2. 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.
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.
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.
(2).
On one remote atoll - Midway Island - some 9 in
On one remote atoll - Midway Island - some 9 in 10
10
Albatross
chicks
plastic
bag remnants
in
Albatross
chicks
hadhad
plastic
bag remnants
in their
their
gullets
and turtles,
dolphins
andwhales
killer can
gullets
- and -turtles,
dolphins
and killer
whales
can
choke
starve by
confusing
plastic
choke or
starve
by or
confusing
plastic
bags for
jellyfish.
bags for jellyfish.
(2) Australian Marine Conservation Society, www.amcs.org.au
... Not to mention other environmental effects
• 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.
Plastic bags last up to 1000 years and accumulate at
a staggering rate!
What you can do –
consumers
• Plastic bags can be returned to supermarkets for
recycling.
– Most larger supermarkets recycle bags. If it’s difficult to find the
recycling bin, suggest that it be put in a more visible place.
– “Green” (polypropylene) bags can be recycled at local councils
or Coles and Bi-Lo stores.
– OR you can also 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.
For free advice and promotional materials, sign up at:
http://www.cleanup.org.au/PDF/au/s-form.pdf or go to:
http://www.noplasticbags.org.au/home/default.aspx
What you can do –
consumers cont.
TIP: 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.
TIP: 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.
What you can do –
retailers
Buy or produce your own reusable bags using our Bag
Selector. Materials include paper, calico, polypropylene
(‘green’ bags), starch-based biodegradable and hemp.
These bags can be sold at a profit for only a few
dollars each.
Our preferred supplier is Adsun: Ph (07) 3399 7933
www.adsun.com.au
or for other suppliers:
http://www.noplasticbags.org.au/alternatives/supplierDirectory.aspx
What you can do –
retailers
Grab our Retailer’s Kit - $45 for a wealth of info
Clean Up Australia has put together this
comprehensive Kit for organisations of any
size with tips on how to refuse, reduce, reuse
and recycle, with staff training materials and
in-store promotional items to generate action.
Download an order form at:
http://cleanup.org.au/PDF/au/s-kit.pdf
For more information: www.cleanup.org.au
www.cleanuptheworld.org