Over ten million plastic shopping bags are used in Australia everyday. The co-founder of Tangaroa Blue and managing director, Heidi Taylor, is disappointed that a ban wasn’t instituted by the Queensland Government to eliminate these environmentally hazardous bags.
Plastic bags are the most common item picked up during Clean Up Australia Day. They are considered a single use plastic item even though some advocates say they are reused as trash bin liners.
There is a request in from Toby Hutcheon, Queensland Conservation Council spokesman, to review the decision. These plastic bags have a life span of between 20 and 1,000 years and about 30% of the turtles in Moreton Bay have died from ingesting the plastic bags as a result of improper disposal.
Other areas of Australia have already instituted the ban, including South Australia. This is a pertinent issue all over the world, with China recently issuing a ban and areas in Europe charging for the use of plastic bags.
http://www.tourismportdouglas.com.au/Minister-rules-out-plastic-bag-charge.9860.0.html