ARE YOU READY?
Why We Are Trying To Phase-out Plastic Bags
In my travels around the world, there is one constant thing that I’ve noticed that has been a blight on the environment. It’s plastic bags.
We only use them for minutes to get the shopping home, but some of them can take hundreds of years to break down. During that time, they can have a very significant impact on wildlife and the environment. They can be mistaken for food by animals and they also trap birds, block drains and kill livestock.
I’ve seen too much footage and too many images of sick, injured and dying wildlife – all of whom have been affected by plastic bags that have gone astray into the environment. The footage of a Bryde’s whale dying a painful death on a Cairns beach galvanised me and many others to say “enough”. The whale died because it was full of six square metres of plastic – too much of this was plastic bags.
Even on our best managed landfills, we are never going to stop massive numbers of plastic bags from escaping out in to the environment. The best solution is to reduce their usage as much as we possibly can.
That is the reason why we have been running this campaign. We need alternatives to plastic bags that make far better and more sustainable use of our resources. That is why this site promotes paper bags and reusable bags.
There is a real momentum happening around the world to reduce the profligate waste of the single-use plastic check-out bag. We need your help to ensure that Australia’s phase-out of plastic bags is as successful as it possibly can be. Like Ireland and its plastic bag charge, Australians can inspire and motivate the world through our own actions against plastic bags.
Many Australians are now ready to live a life without plastic check-out bags. The question is. Are you ready?
- Jon Dee
- Organiser, ‘The National Plastic Bag Campaign’
