Plastic Bags - COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water

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5 10 15 20 25 Community support for targeting plastic bags is evident in the success of plastic bag reduction programmes in communities such as Coles Bay, Tasmania, Huskisson, New South Wales, and on Lord Howe Island, New South Wales. Lord Howe Island was the 2004 winner of the Keep Australia Beautiful, <strong>Plastic</strong> <strong>Bags</strong> Reduction Initiative Award in the community category. Coles Bay was awarded the Environmental Excellence Award by the Tasmanian Government; the programme’s instigator won the national Local Hero Award for 2005 and Tasmanian of the Year in 2005. A nationwide government survey, 56 conducted in April 2006, confirmed that community concern remains widespread. It found that 37 percent of respondents had taken action to reduce their use of plastic bags in the past twelve months, with an additional 43 percent taking action more than twelve months before. Clearly, there is broad community concern about the use of single-use plastic carry bags, which is translating into a willingness to take action on the part of local retailers, governments, NGOs and the wider community. Policy measures to reduce consumption of plastic bags – aimed at ultimately reducing litter impacts – are likely to be well received by a percentage of the community. However, it should also be noted that single-use plastic carry bags are highly valued by some consumers for transport and reuse purposes. The high level of community interest does not necessarily mean that plastic carry bags should be placed as a higher priority than other policy issues to be considered by governments. It does mean, however, that the development of policy solutions will need to consider social issues and views as well as the environmental impact. Questions for consultation: • Can you provide information of anti-plastic bag litter activity or measures in your local area and where possible, indicate the level of success of this action? 30 35 40 3.6.3 Damage to boating and auto industry <strong>Plastic</strong> debris including plastic film (which includes plastic bags) can damage propellers, and clog seawater intakes and evaporators, causing potential engine failure, costly repairs, and delays. This type of vessel disablement can be life threatening if the boat is stranded a long way from land. However the proportion of disablements due directly to plastic bags is not clear. In 1998, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (United Kingdom) attended 200 incidents of damaged propellers, 11 percent of which were life threatening. 57 In the Australian context similar breakdown incidents have been reported although, again, the proportion due to plastic bags has not been determined. However, a Western Australian paper reported ‘flotsam, jetsam, especially plastic bags’ can result in costly repairs. 58 In 2002, the Boating Industry Association of NSW and the Boating Industry Association of Queensland reported that plastic bags caused millions of 56 OmniAccess Consumer Survey prepared on behalf of Department of Environment and Conservation, NSW and conducted during 22-23 April 2006 nationwide of 1,000 households. Respondents were asked, “which of the following best describes you and any actions you may have taken to reduce your use of light weight plastic shopping bags.” 13% Within the last 6 months, 24% in the last 6 to 12 months, 23% between 1 to 2 years ago; 20% over 2 years ago, 16% I do not do anything to reduce my use and 3% NA or I don’t use bags 57 Maine Conservation Society Long Term Impacts of <strong>Plastic</strong> <strong>Bags</strong> in the Marine Environment, Ross-on-Wye, UK, August 2004. 58 Barry Wiseman, ‘Breakdown service ‘bags’ rubbish, The West Australian Saturday 11/03/06) Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement: Investigation of options to reduce the environmental impact of plastic bags January 2007 28
dollars worth of damage to boat engines each year, as they often became wrapped around propellers and water intakes, ‘cooking’ the engine. 59 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 In 2003, Mark Skaife, with the support of Federal Liberal MP, Bruce Billson, launched an anti-litter campaign aimed at plastic bags after his Commodore V8 Supercar engine overheated. This occurred during the 2002 Bathurst 100 car race when three plastic bags blowing across the track were caught by his vehicle and blocked the radiator cooling. While Skaife went on to eventually win the race, Craig Lowndes’ race was stopped by a plastic shopping bag in the same event. Skaife said: It's about time that everybody took responsibility for their own litter and made sure that it's disposed of properly, rather than blowing about and getting into our waterways. Programs such as Clean the Stream are the best way to get the message across to young people, who are very environmentally aware. They know that litter can block streams and even kill wildlife. And of course from my own experience, plastic bag litter could be the difference for me between winning and losing a big race. And that's another reason for motor sport fans at the Foster's Australian Grand Prix to do the right thing by putting their litter into a bin and not letting it blow about. Mr Billson said publicity about the number of plastic bags that get into the litter stream and pollute local waterways had highlighted the need for action by industry and the community to reduce litter of all types. 60 This section of the consultation RIS shows that adverse impacts of plastic bag litter are more widespread than negative impacts on flora and fauna. It seeks the advice of affected stakeholders on the nature and cost (quantified where possible) of those impacts identified here and of other impacts that may not have been identified. Questions for consultation • What is the scale of the impact plastic bags have on boating and car activities? Is there quantitative data on incidents and associated costs? • What measures are currently taken to address the impact of plastic bags on these types of machinery? • Do you know of other incidents in which plastic bags have caused damage to persons or property (eg impacts on farmers from livestock eating plastic bags, or in the aviation industry) and are you able to provide information on the nature and costs of these impacts? 40 45 3.6.4 Clean-up and infrastructure While there are insufficient data to enable a complete breakdown assessment of the costs associated directly with plastic bag litter, indicative costs of litter management in general are available. This section outlines current costs of litter management, from which inferences can be drawn relating to plastic bag litter management. The Nolan-ITU report, <strong>Plastic</strong> shopping bags: analysis of levies and environmental impacts (December 2002), states that approximately $200 million per year is spent by local and state governments on 59 Simon Kearney, ‘Boat Industry Backs Levy’, Sunday Telegraph (Sydney), p4, 6/10/02 60 http://www.v8supercar.com.au/news/latestnews/newsdisplay.asp?gid=5849 (Accessed 9/1/2007) Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement: Investigation of options to reduce the environmental impact of plastic bags January 2007 29
Page 1 and 2: 5 10
Page 3 and 4: Contents 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 ACR
Page 5 and 6: Acronyms ACCC Australian Competitio
Page 7 and 8: Glossary advance disposal fee A fee
Page 9 and 10: net present value (NPV) This is a s
Page 11 and 12: 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Litter
Page 13 and 14: 5 10 analysed in Option G, is an op
Page 15 and 16: 5 10 15 20 25 2.1. Definition of
Page 17 and 18: ecome litter if placed in a waste r
Page 19 and 20: 3. Statement of the problem 5 10 15
Page 21 and 22: Figure 1: Summary of plastic bag fl
Page 23 and 24: the lowest value on the availabilit
Page 25 and 26: 5 10 to have had a noticeable impac
Page 27 and 28: 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 totally prohibi
Page 29: negatively affected as a consequenc
Page 33 and 34: 5 3.7.2 Material recovery facilitie
Page 35 and 36: 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 • sector-w
Page 37 and 38: 6. Current Measures in Place 5 10 1
Page 39 and 40: currently exempt from action. Impor
Page 41 and 42: formally being signatory to the ARA
Page 43 and 44: litter, 84 which means that no indi
Page 45 and 46: 7. Statement of Proposed Alternativ
Page 47 and 48: 5 10 • Option M: elimination of p
Page 49 and 50: activities and strategies each year
Page 51 and 52: 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 or socio-econom
Page 53 and 54: 5 10 Questions for consultation •
Page 55 and 56: • one-off costs to all retailers
Page 57 and 58: • governments do not implement re
Page 59 and 60: Industry • one-off cost of $100 m
Page 61 and 62: 5 If expansion of activity by small
Page 63 and 64: Economic Impacts: 5 10 15 • Over
Page 65 and 66: etailers, or contribute to a rebate
Page 67 and 68: The ACG analysis found that the ben
Page 69 and 70: A number of the benefits of impleme
Page 71 and 72: This option would be similar to the
Page 73 and 74: Government • ongoing costs of 0.1
Page 75 and 76: Option L: assumptions For the purpo
Page 77 and 78: 5 Other key findings Environmental
Page 79 and 80: 5 10 15 20 Biodegradable bags The a
Page 81 and 82:
5 10 15 Findings Costs and benefits
Page 83 and 84:
• otherwise, similar commitments
Page 85 and 86:
8. Consultation The principal form
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5 • Indigenous communities • fa
Page 89 and 90:
5 10 If the value of the social ben
Page 91 and 92:
5 Questions for consultation • Sh
Page 93 and 94:
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 EPA Victoria
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Plastic Bags - COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water

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