Although it might seem a little far away it doesn’t hurt to get organised and understand…
- Which bags are actually getting banned?
- How it affects you and
- What are the alternative bagging options?
Which bags are actually getting banned?
The Queensland government has said it’s banning “single use lightweight plastic shopping bags”, basically the ones you get at the checkout when shopping at Woolworths and Coles.There are more than 900 million of these bags used in Queensland alone each year, and while most of them end up in landfill, there is still 2% (or 16 million bags) entering the environment.
How will it affect you?
The main affect will be felt at the checkout at both large retailers like Woolworths and Coles, as well as smaller local retail shops. Neither Woolworths nor Coles at this point in time have announced an alternative packing option for when you’re getting your groceries. Whether they follow Aldi’s approach of bring your own reusable bags remains to be seen, and we’ll keep an eye out for any changes that are announced.QIS has also been investigating potential products that could be used at the checkout that may easily replace single use shopping bags, so watch this space.
Smaller retail stores that also currently use single use plastic bags will have to find an alternative packaging option, which brings us to our 3rd question…
What are alternative bagging options?
There are 3 main alternatives that will be popular as replacements for the plastic shopping checkout bags.Paper bags: Much more friendly for the environment than plastic bags. Although there is the argument that it just involves chopping down more trees, paper bags are far easier to recycle than plastic bags and are therefore much better for the environment.
The paper used in creating QIS Packaging paper bags is also sourced from a sustainable timber plantation forest, making it even more environmentally sustainable and responsible.