Plastic Bags

The plastic bag has become an important symbol for consumers to take action and try to deal with the sometimes overwhelming concerns about the environment. It is important that people wanting to make a change for the better have the best information and choices available to them. It is important that information and choice are based on the best available science and data.

It is a fact that plastic shopping bags are a safe, cost-effective and hygienic method for people to move grocery and other items from shops to their homes. In addition to this, most bags are re-used for a range of applications, from kitchen tidies, storage and picking after the family dog. 98% of bags in Australia are dealt with responsibly when people are finished using them.

It is also a fact that a small proportion of these bags create problems in our environment as litter, around 1-2%. Business, governments, communities and most importantly individuals, all need to take responsibility for all types of litter. Plastic bags should not become litter, but when they do, they should be dealt with as part of the overall litter stream.

As a result of industry working with governments and communities, consumers now have access to a wider range of bags to continue moving groceries and other products from shops including:

• Traditional HDPE
• Degradable plastics
• Durable Polypropylene re-usable fabric bags (the ‘green’ bags)
• Cotton, jute or Hessian bags
• Paper bags and cardboard boxes

A number of Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) have been conducted both in Australia and overseas which report on the comparative environmental impacts of various materials and bags.

PACIA works with Federal and State governments to ensure that people have access to both information and choice to make sure that any changes are for the best and are sustainable.