In announcing his state’s ban on single-use plastic bags today Mark McGowan told reporters plastic was "the curse of the earth" and was responsible for killing wildlife and degrading the environment.
“Five out of seven states have now listened to the concerns of their residents and the scientists who have repeatedly warned how bad our plastic pollution crisis is,” Greenpeace Senior Campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said.
“The only two states continuing to ignore the desire of their constituents by holding back a ban are Victoria and NSW. But while Victoria has left the door open, in NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has flatly refused to consider a ban instead leaving the problem for industry to manage - that’s a certain recipe for polluted beaches and dead marine life.
“Other states have now proved we can reduce plastic waste - these two governments who aren't on board need to wake up and take action.”
WA’s ban will be effective from July 1, 2018 making NSW and Victoria the only Australian states that are yet to act on banning single use plastic bags.
"This is a huge win for the people of WA less than a year after a previous state government publicly said they would never ban plastic bags," Greenpeace activist Bhaval Chandaria said.
Queensland’s moved to ban single-use plastic bags and implement a container deposit scheme last week. South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT all have bans on single-use plastic bags in place. NSW and Victoria are yet to implement any policy on bags despite polls showing overwhelming support for a ban [1].
“There is no good reason for the Premiers and Environment ministers of these two lagging states to still be dragging their heels,” Pelle said.
“This paralysis means millions of plastic bags will make their ways into the environment and waterways of NSW and Victoria for absolutely no reason.”
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
[1] http://bit.ly/2eCLL21
For interviews contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org