Press release – 24 November, 2016Sydney, 25 November 2016 – Responding to the Queensland state government’s ban on single-use plastic bags from 2018, Greenpeace campaigner Samantha Wockner said:“Queenslanders use more than 2.2m plastic bags every day for an average of just 12 minutes each, but the damage they cause in the environment can last for centuries afterwards. [1]
“This ban will have a fantastic impact on the health of turtles, dolphins and other sea life who are vulnerable to these bags once they reach waterways and oceans.
“We hope that Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales will now catch up with the rest of Australia in banning single-use plastic bags.
Single-use plastic bags have already been banned in South Australia, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.
The Queensland single-use plastic bag ban also extends to ‘biodegradable’ plastic bags, which were left out of other states’ plastic bag bans
“Biodegradable bags can be just as bad for the environment as normal plastic bags, so including these within the ban is an excellent news for Queensland.”