Single-use plastic shopping bags will be banned in Queensland from July next year, following the passage of a long-heralded bill through Parliament on Tuesday night.
Coupled with a recycling refund scheme similar to the one that has operated in South Australia for years, the Palaszczuk government hoped the move would cut down on litter and landfill.
The ban targets all lightweight, single-use plastic bags, including those of the biodegradable variety, but stops short of prohibiting the heavier bags used at department stores.
The refund scheme will apply to most drink bottles between 150 millilitres and three litres, making 10-cent returns available for recyclers.
According to the government, milk, wine and pure juice bottles will be exempt.
Environment Minister Steven Miles said bipartisan support for the ban reflected “overwhelming” community support for the measures.
He waxed nostalgic about school holidays spent with his granddad, stacking XXXX tallies in the wire collection depot to raise money for the northern suburbs racing pigeon club.
“I can still smell the stale beer and hear the crash of broken glass,” he said.
“It is entirely possible that my taste for Queensland’s iconic XXXX beer dates back to those fond memories of my granddad, although it is also fair to say that granddad did not mind emptying a XXXX bottle of his own later in the day.”
South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Tasmania have already introduced bans and Woolworths and Coles have promised to replace single-use bags with reusable ones costing 15 cents.
According to the minister, 2.4 billion recyclable drink bottles and 1 billion lightweight, single-use shopping bags were used in Queensland each year, with many ending up in waterways.
LNP Environment spokesman Dr Christian Rowan said four other states and territories had already passed bag bans and he welcomed the introduction in Queensland.
“On average a single-use plastic bag is used for just 12 minutes but it can take up to 1000 years to fully decompose,” he said.
“Australians use over 5 billion of such plastic shopping bags every year, with an estimated 900 million used here in Queensland.”
He supported the bill but claimed credit for its passage, pointing to the LNP’s 2016 commitments to ban plastic bags regardless of co-operation from other states and introduce a recycling refund.
“These announcements at the time prompted the minister ... to act."
At that time Labor was continuing to focus on a national solution, citing industry preference and concerns about potential differences between the Gold Coast and Tweed Heads.
“Reverse vending” machines providing instant refunds will be employed to help with the recycling scheme, with the first example already installed at Parliament House.
This story first appeared on Brisbane Times.
