Today, Boomerang Alliance was at the annual NSW State of the State where Premier Gladys Berejiklian was the key note speaker. We decided to sneak into the conference room.

We used that opportunity to covertly place campaign material calling for a ban on plastic bags on each table and an activist deployed a banner in front of the 650 guests high profile guests and the Premier herself.

The Premier response was again that she does not need to pass a law (even though almost all states have or will be) because of voluntary action by some key retailers.

Millions of bags will still enter the environment. Every turtle, whale and bird that is harmed or killed by this litter will lay at the Berejiklian’s government’s door.

With the National Retailers Association joining environment groups and councils in support of a comprehensive plastic bag ban law in NSW – Gladys Berejiklian‘s position, is a massive failure of political judgement and a serious threat to the marine environment.

Environment Ministers meet tomorrow on 28 July – will NSW be the remaining obstacle to national coverage by bag ban laws?

Woolworths & Coles Ban the Bag in Australia

Today we welcome the announcement that Woolworths and Coles will ban lightweight plastic bags in their stores nationally from July 2018. Woolworths currently provide 3.2 billion plastic bags through their supermarkets annually.

There are now only three States, NSW, Victoria and Western Australia, who have yet to ban lightweight plastic bags, it's imperative that those State Governments to act to ban the bag.

Removing plastic bags in Australia is a significant first step in reducing this countries disposable plastic use and reducing threats to wildlife. Over 3 million tonnes of plastic is used in Australia every year, with most disposable plastics either landfilled or littered. It is estimated that between 100,000 and 120,000 tonnes of disposable plastic is littered annually. That is equivalent to 2.4 kgs per person in Australia.

We do however think Woolworths and Coles should go beyond their plan to introduce thicker bags at a 15 cents charge and urge that they replace this with fully proven reusable bag so the whole community adapts and use only genuinely reusable bags.

We recommend that supermarkets and other retailers see this ban as the first step in a movement to reduce the use of single use, disposable plastics. A review into plastic packaging of fresh food should be instigated with the aim of removing or replacing all unnecessary packaging.

Please help keep this momentum going by sending an email to the Ministers of NSW, WA and Victoria to increase the pressure to ban the bag in these three remaining states.

The Boomerang Alliance has welcomed the tabling of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Amendment Bill 2017 into the Queensland Parliament today as one of the most important environment protection measures in a generation. The bill legislates a ban on lightweight plastics bags and the introduction of a Container Refund Scheme, both in 2018.

The combination of a ban on bags, a refund on cans and bottles and associated public litter awareness will make Queensland a cleaner, safer and more resource-efficient state.

The Parliament needs to pass the legislation as soon as practical to allow the timely introduction of both measures in July 2018.

View our Media Release HERE

We need to ensure our oceans have a voice!

The next couple of months are critical for increasing political pressure to achieve a ban on plastic bags. 

Plastic bags are only used for 12 minutes on average before they are thrown away! Many of them end up in our oceans and have deadly consequences for marine life for hundreds of years. It's time NSW, VIC and WA banned the bag!

We just can't afford to wait any longer and we have all the information we need to justify a ban. Four states have already phased out plastic bags, with QLD joining just recently. The upcoming environment ministers meeting in June 2017 is a key moment to put pressure on the current NSW, VIC & WA Government. The time to act is now!

You have the power to make a positive difference for our oceans and marine life and to engage with a topic you are passionate about. Your contribution would be an important part of our push on plastic bags in the coming weeks.

To help our oceans and make our message be heard add your voice today:

1. Email the Premier, Environment Minister and Opposition Leader in NSW, VIC & WA, explaining why you care and why this issue is important to you is the most effective tool of advocacy.

2. Send a letter to your local paper asking for a ban on single use lightweight plastic bags.

Your hard work is paying off! NSW, QLD, ACT and WA all have committed to introduce a deposit scheme on bottles and cans in the years to come. We now need your support to get Victoria to join them. It doesn't matter if you live in another state, taking action today will help protect our wonderful oceans and clean up Australia.

The release of the Queensland Government’s Discussion Paper on a Container Refund Scheme (Cash for Containers) on February 18th, 2017 keeps the state on track to introduce the scheme in July 2018.

The consultation period ended on March 20th, and we would like to thank the 839 people who made submissions through our website. The government takes these very seriously and the information provided will help to design the scheme and influence how it will be implemented.

>> For further information on the scheme in Queensland, click here

>> To read our submission on the discussion paper, click here

>> To read our media release, click here

We are welcoming the change to the start date of the NSW Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) to the 1st of December 2017 as good policy and congratulated the government on listening to the many requests for more time to rollout a better serviced scheme.

The Queensland State Government has announced a plan to ban on lightweight, single-use plastics bags by 2018, and this includes degradable and biodegradable bags, which are no better for the environment than standard plastic bags.

A public discussion paper was released late 2016, with a deadline of 27th February 2017. The response from the public was overwhelming, with the government receiving over 26000 submissions, sending a clear message that the people want action on plastic bags.

Not only that, but the submissions also made it very clear that plastic bags are just the start, and further needs to be done to reduce plastic litter. We are told by government insiders that this is being taken very seriously.

Our heartfelt thank you to everyone who made a submission!

>>To read our submission on the discussion paper, click here

>>For further information on plastic bags, click here

2016 was a successful year! Wins on container deposits and microbeads; movement on single use plastic bags; and release of our Marine Plastic Pollution Plan. Working with our 45 allies and thousands of supporters. Check out our Report on 2016 and plans for 2017.