Tasmania looks set to become the second state to ban plastic bags after a motion passed through the state’s lower house with tripartisan support.
Greens MP and Cabinet Secretary Cassy O’Connor introduced the motion in the Tasmanian Parliament on Wednesday, and it secured the support of Labor and the Liberals.
Ms O’Connor told Parliament it was a massive step forward for the state.
“I’m very, very very pleased and we all should hold out heads up high in this place about the outcome and the contributions on this debate today,” she said.
“We have and we are doing the right thing.
“Every single time we don’t recycle those plastic bags we are sending them to landfill.”
South Australia last year became the first Australian state to ban the bags.
The managing director of environmental group Do Something, Jon Dee, said it would now be up to states to take the initiative because of a lack of action from the federal government.
“The simple fact is the federal government has dropped the ball when it comes to their promise to implement a ban on plastic bags at a national level,” Mr Dee told AAP on Wednesday.
“Instead, we’re having to rely on states banning them on a state-by-state basis.
“It would be really good to see Julia Gillard fulfil the previous government’s promise to get rid of plastic bags and do it once and for all.”
A ban in the eastern Tasmanian town of Coles Bay seven years ago had seen the number of bags used in the state drop by 1.8 million, Mr Dee said.
