The State Government has knocked back a bid to outlaw single-use plastic shopping bags.
The Government yesterday used its numbers in the Upper House to defeat a Labor Bill which proposed to ban non-biodegradable, lightweight plastic bags commonly found in supermarkets.
Shadow environment minister Sally Talbot said there was strong public support for a ban on plastic shopping bags and it was disappointing Liberal and Nationals MPs had not supported her Private Member’s Bill.
“The Bill had a transition time so people could get used to the idea and there were various penalties for retailers who didn’t comply with the new law. It was a very straightforward Bill, it wasn’t particularly costly or complicated and it’s a scheme that’s worked well in other parts of the world,” she said.
Environment Minister Bill Marmion said the State Government would await the outcome of a review from South Australia into the success of its plastic bag ban.
“There are people that say if you impose a ban on plastic bags that people will just use stronger bags and that it won’t make any difference,” he said.
“I think it’s prudent for me and for WA to actually see what the review from South Australia comes up with.”
Dr Talbot said the City of Fremantle had showed “real leadership” by putting its own plastic bag ban in place and Labor believed doing nothing was simply not an option.
Dr Talbot said only a fraction of plastic bags were currently recycled and a ban would have several important environmental benefits.
“They ruin the visual amenity of our public spaces, present a dangerous hazard to wildlife and are a real menace when they get sucked up into boat engines and the like,” she said.
“Nobody has ever claimed that banning plastic bags was a silver bullet - it was never going to solve the whole waste problem in WA but the whole point about waste management and moving us into the 21st century is that you need to take some small steps towards making a difference and banning plastic bags is one of those small steps.”
