Victoria is Set to Ban Single-Use Plastic Bags Across the State in November

As of November, lightweight, single-use plastic bags will be banned in all shops and supermarkets across Victoria. The state government introduced a bill in parliament yesterday to ban the bags—including those made from degradable, biodegradable, and compostable plastics—from retail outlets including supermarkets, fashion boutiques, fast-food outlets, convenience stores, and service stations, SBS reports. The move, which needs to pass both houses of parliament, will make it illegal for retailers to even offer the bags, as part of an initiative that aims to stem the flow of trash into the natural environment.

"Victorians use more than a billion of these bags each and every year; more than 10 million of these end up as litter in our environment," Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio told reporters. "We know that's not good enough."

Heavier plastic bags and thicker garbage bags, as well as bags used for fruit, vegetables, and meat, will be exempt from the ban, with Ms D’Ambrosio noting that “it’s pointless to implement a ban on other bags where there are no alternatives for consumers.” But the Boomerang Alliance, an environmental association, wants to see bans imposed on the heavier bags as well, according to Fairfax.

“They are still found in the litter stream and landfills,” said Boomerang Alliance director Jeff Angel. “Secondly there’s a lot of evidence that they’re not being reused. We’re still wasting a lot of plastic.”

In the event that the laws come to pass, Victoria will become the second last state in Australia to introduce a ban on lightweight plastic bags. South Australia rolled out their ban a decade ago, followed a few years later by the Northern Territory and the ACT in 2011. Tasmania banned the bags in 2013, while Queensland and Western Australia both followed suit in July last year.

That will make New South Wales the only Australian state not to have outlawed single-use plastic bags. This is despite the fact that the NSW Greens introduced draft laws into parliament last year to phase out all single-use plastics such as bags and straws by the end of 2018. A 2015 poll also found that 64 percent of respondents in the state supported a total bag ban in supermarkets and stores.

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