Australia – plastic bag ban divides ministers

Shoppers in the Australian state of Victoria will pay up to 25c for plastic bags while in South Australia they will be banned from using them, as the two states go it alone after the nation‘‘s environment ministers failed to agree on a national approach.



At the 16th meeting of the Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) in Melbourne, Australian environment ministers and their counterparts from New Zealand and Papua New Guinea focused on key environmental challenges relating to climate change, water and waste management. EPHC has always had a strong focus on waste management issues, and this meeting marked progress on end-of-life tyres and plastic bags.



With regard to plastic bags, Ministers agreed to:



§ note the analysis presented in the Decision Regulatory Impact Statement on plastic bags, particularly the financial costs of regulatory options presented to Council.



§ note that, after considering all the options, Council has not endorsed uniform regulatory action at this time to ban or place a charge on plastic bags.



§ convene urgently a high level government-industry working group to identify additional measures by which retailers can increase the voluntary uptake of ‘‘green‘‘ reusable bags and reduce the use of plastic bags, and report back to Council in November 2008.



§ intensify work on research and innovation initiatives relating to alternative products to plastic bags, including biodegradable plastic bags, and their potential use to reduce adverse impacts.



§ request EPH Standing Committee to investigate further options for nationally consistent action, including:



§ hypothecation for environmental outcomes of a voluntary retailer charge using information from the Victorian pilot project, which will be made available to other jurisdictions.



§ other means of phasing out single use plastic bags, currently being investigated by the states.



§ develop a national plan of action on litter reduction, given broader concerns about the impacts of litter in Australia.





The Australian newspaper reports that in an embarrassing failure for federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett – who has championed the phasing out of shopping bags by year‘‘s end – the states refused to sign up to a national levy to reduce plastic bag usage.



Mr Garrett emerged from lengthy talks with his state counterparts in Melbourne yesterday declaring it wasn‘‘t the right time for a levy, saying it would hurt already struggling families.



"What we‘‘ve decided today is that there will not be a national mandated charge on plastic bags in checkouts but we do want to see increased action to reduce plastic bag use in the community," he said.



"We‘‘ve identified the need for an urgent working group to be established between government and industry to look at making sure retailers are exploring all the options they have in front of them to increase the use of the green recycle bags and to lessen the use of plastic bags."



Despite the stalemate, South Australia will ban plastic bags from next January and Victoria will introduce a levy under a pilot program in two locations in that state.



South Australian Environment Minister Gail Gago said she was "deeply disappointed" there had not been national agreement… but her state would push ahead with a ban regardless.



"After six years of the (Environment Protection and Heritage) Council, we‘‘re still unable to come to a nationally consistent approach," Ms Gago said.



Victorian Environment Minister Gavin Jennings said his state‘‘s levy pilot project would start later this year, with a cost of 10-25c for a plastic bag.



NSW Environment Minister Verity Firth earlier said her state was not prepared to