Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

Why Australia's plastic bag ban is doing more harm than good

Shaun White
Sunrise
Friday, 12 July 2019 8:14 am

VIDEO - 4:27 Bag Ban Backfires
(Source: Sunrise)

Plastic Bag Ban Credit: Supplied

It's been one year since Australia's major supermarkets removed single-use plastic bags from checkouts and started charging for 'reusable' ones.

Coles says the move has already saved 1.7 billion single-use bags from ending up in landfill, but new research is casting doubt on whether the ban is doing more harm than good.

Watch the full story in the clip above.

The study suggests Australia's plastic bag ban actually contributes to the world's waste crisis, with 'reusable' bags taking longer to break down and alternatives faring no better.

Cotton bags have to be used a whopping 131 times to be better for the environment than a single-use plastic bag. The new thicker bags have to be used four times, and paper bags three times, to be worthwhile.

Sales of small, single-use garbage bags have increased a whopping 120 per cent since the ban came into place.

The study also found that shoppers' behaviour pre-ban was more 'green', because thin bags were often reused as bin liners, to pick up dog poo or to carry things.

Critics say the ban isn't helping us to reduce plastic waste and is instead another way for big business to make shoppers part with their hard-earned cash.

https://7news.com.au/sunrise/on-the-show/why-australias-plastic-bag-ban-is-doing-more-harm-than-good-c-211430

I haven't seen any other studies done so don't know how legit that one is.