Do you still use the hard copy of the Yellow Pages?

The majority of Australians use the internet to find the contact details of local businesses which is why Bunbury resident Meghan was so upset to find a huge pile of Yellow Pages books "dumped" on her residential street. 

Read more on ABC Perth website

Director of Boomerang Alliance, Jeff Angel had a conversation with Scott Levi from ABC Central Coast Breakfast about the need for reusable shopping bags national standard.

Jeff Angel's interview with Hilary Harper from Life Matters, ABC RN

In the last two weeks both Coles and Woolworths have made announcements on future plans for heavyweight (approx. 55mcn) 15 cent plastic bags – which they have been claiming are reusable. Both bags have a high percent of recycled content. Over the last two years their positions on the bags have varied (we will ban; we won’t ban).

At the same time Boomerang has been pointing out that the bags were not reusable as they had not been tested against a credible benchmark, such as the Californian SB270 code. It requires a bag must be able to carry 10kg with 15litre volume capacity, over 50 metres, at least 125 times and be recyclable at end of use. The vast majority of the big supermarkets’ thicker bags were only used once or twice ending up as litter or in landfill.

Now at least there has been a partial breakthrough with Woolworths abandoning their heavyweight bags over the next 12 months, in favour of a range of options that include paper (single use), fabric and more durable plastic bags. However Coles will continue with the slightly thicker bag largely made using recycled and marine waste plastics. The Coles position is surprising given that some states are now moving to ban these heavyweight bags (WA is first off in July 2022).

Both are missing the opportunity to offer their customers a permanent solution, a solution that will meet customer needs and significantly reduce plastic waste and litter. That is the genuinely reusable shopping bag, rather than a single or very limited use bag made of any material including paper. From what the supermarkets are telling us between 70-80% of their customers already bring their own shopping bags. By only providing genuinely reusable bags in the future, that number should go well above 95% as consumers who ‘’forget’’ their reusable bag or shop on the spur of the moment adopt new behaviours (eg, always have access to a compact alternative foldable bag).

The Boomerang Alliance has put forward a proposal for a national Reusable Shopping Bag Standard, like the Californian code to stop the greenwash about reusability. Such bags should retail at a minimum $2, a price that will incentivise their continued reuse as a shopping bag. Both supermarkets potentially already carry such bags (eg ‘bag for good’) – subject to credible and transparent testing (as the Californian rule prescribes).

We have urged every State and Territory Government to regulate this issue as a national standard and adopt as soon as possible, and certainly by 2024.

The Boomerang Alliance has welcomed today’s announcement by Woolworths that they will phase-out their 15 cent heavyweight plastic bags within 12 months. These slightly thicker bags remain a waste and litter problem, and are unnecessary in Australia.

In the five years since its inception, the Plastic Free Places (PFP) program, run by the Boomerang Alliance, has eliminated, or removed over 12.5 million single use takeaway plastic items from use. That includes plastic straws, cutlery, coffee cups, lids, water bottles and plastic containers.

Interested food outlets are inducted into the PFP network and shown how to avoid, reuse or switch to non-plastic or certified compostable packaging (Aust Standards). There are over 900 food businesses now participating.

The program has been an astounding success and shows that given the right advice and support the hospitality sector can easily switch away from using problematic takeaway plastics.

It demonstrates that the bans being introduced on these products throughout Australia are realistic and achievable, as long as the hospitality sector is given the opportunity to switch, and misleading information (greenwash) is not circulated.

By reducing single use plastic, we reduce the flow of dangerous plastic pollution into our waterways and ocean, and waste into landfill. The program aligns environment protection that consumers and businesses want with acceptable alternative products and practices like avoidance and reuse; and the increasing moves to ban single use plastic items.

The PFP program employs an expert coordinator in each location to work directly with cafes, other food outlets and public events to provide best practice advice on packaging alternatives.

Plastic Free Place locations

Data has been taken from 12 Plastic Free Places including Noosa, Cairns & Douglas, Townsville, Rockhampton, and Livingstone (QLD) Byron Shire, Randwick (NSW), Mt Martha, Elsternwick, Moreland (Vic), Adelaide & Port Lincoln (SA), Perth (WA). Our Darwin (NT) and Hobart surrounds (Tas) programs have only recently launched, so their data is not yet included.

Background Information about Plastic Free Places: www.plasticfreeplaces.org

The Boomerang Alliance of 55 environment NGOs welcomes the appointment of Tanya Plibersek, as Australia’s Environment Minister and urges quick action on implementing key recycling and plastic pollution policies.

As NSW finally enters the lightweight plastic bag free-era tomorrow, environmental groups have called for the government to avoid delaying action on other polluting plastics.

After years of controversy about what can be safely flushed down the toilet; the damaging impacts on the sewerage system and environment; and failed court cases by the ACCC - a new standard* will sort this mess out.

Coles Supermarkets in their recent announcement about using marine plastic waste in plastic bags are undermining their own Together to Zero Waste strategy by failing to meet genuine standards for reusability.