12/03/2005 - The Australian
Minister for Environment and Heritage, Senator
Ian Campbell today praised supermarkets for
their commitment to reducing plastic bag use
with the release of two consumption reports.
Two new reports, one from Nolan ITU, commissioned
by the Department of the Environment and Heritage
in December 2004, and the other from the Australian
Retailers Association, both indicate the number
of bags issued has fallen significantly.
"Supermarkets are leading the way and
I challenge others, particularly small retailers
and the clothing and department store sectors,
to follow their lead," Senator Campbell
said.
"In 2002, we used an estimated six billion
lightweight carry plastic bags. That's a phenomenal
amount of waste, which is not only an eye
sore but potentially lethal to some of our
wildlife.
"The new survey by Nolan ITU estimates
that 4.77 billion lightweight plastic carry
bags (or 613 per household) were used during
2004 compared with 5.95 billion in 2002. Overall,
Australians have reduced bag use by around
21 per cent since 2002."
Senator Campbell said more work needs to
be done with the non-supermarket retailers
which have only reduced bag use by between
10-15 per cent.
"The good news is, according to the
Nolan ITU report, supermarkets have managed
to reduce their use of lightweight plastic
bags by 25 per cent. This is consistent with
retailers' findings that major supermarkets
have recorded similar impressive decrease
of 26.9 per cent. Even though usage is still
high, I congratulate supermarkets and consumers
alike in their clear commitment to reducing
their use of plastic bags," he said.
The ARA reported on performance during 2004
against the targets set in the 'Code of Practice
Target for the Management of Plastic Bags'.
The Code aims to reduce plastic bag use by
50 per cent by the end of 2005.
"I will be convening a second roundtable
with supermarkets and non-supermarket retailers
on 22 March to further explore ways in which
we can work together to meet this target,"
he said.
