'Ban the bag' bill flawed: Inquiry

An inquiry into a private member’s bill proposing to ban plastic bags has found a number of flaws in the legislation and has urged the government to canvass public opinion on the impact of making Victoria a plastic bag-free state. 

A report released on Thursday by the Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee said the Environment Protection Amendment Bill 2016, in its current form, opts for a blanket ban on supply and sale of single use plastic bags, rather than requiring supermarkets to charge consumers for carrier bags. 

The report references large shops in England which were required to charge 5 pence (approximately 10 cents) for all single-use plastic carrier bags in 2015. 

In the six months from October 2015 – April 2016, the seven main supermarkets in England used 0.6 billion single-use plastic bags, as opposed to an estimated 7.6 billion in the 2014 calendar year, the report states. 

Australia’s large supermarkets are not required to charge for single-use bags, although ALDI charges for thicker, reusable plastic bags. 

Victoria – along with NSW and Western Australia – are the only states without legislation designed to “ban the bag”. 

The report references a number of initiatives undertaken by local councils to reduce residents’ plastic use. 

Indigo Shire Council, for example, was “heading down the path” of banning single‑use plastic bags and plastic water bottles from its operations and events. 

Community-driven projects, like Boomerang Bags, were also referenced in the report. 

Plastic Free Bendigo – a recently formed Bendigo Sustainability action group – plans to partner with local supermarkets to give consumers the option of using the recycled, fabric bags for free, providing they are returned on their next visit.

The group hopes to make the bags through Department of Justice labour.

And volunteers for Boomerang Bags Castlemaine and Surrounds are creating hundreds of fabric alternatives to the plastic carry bag, which it hopes will be in locals businesses soon.

The  Environment Protection Amendment Bill  (Banning Plastic Bags, Packaging and Microbeads) 2016 proposes to increase the entry powers of the Environment Protection Authority. 

Under the bill, EPA officers will have the power, exercisable without a warrant, to enter, at any reasonable time, any premises from which prohibited plastic bags or restricted packaging is (or is likely to be) supplied, sold or manufactured, the report states.