On July 11th, 2013, Environment Minister Andrew Powell confirmed the Queensland Government would be considering a ban on plastic bags, but by the next day the story had changed. On Friday, 12th July, Minister Powell said, “The Newman Government will not introduce waste or recycling measures that increase the cost of living for Queenslanders.”
We believe Premier Newman may have misunderstood the issue here. The whole idea of a state-wide ban on single use plastic shopping bags is that customers are encouraged to bring their own reusable shopping bags. This doesn’t cost customers anything!
The Think Outside the Bag project has been working to reduce the use of single use plastic shopping bags and push for a state-wide ban on these bags. It has taken off in leaps and bounds since the official launch of the Port Douglas reusable bag in April this year. This project has garnered tremendous support from the local community and businesses. Additionally, politician Michael Trout MP has come on board with the project and has pledged his support for a state-wide ban on single use plastic shopping bags.
We would like to gain more support for our online petition and need your help! Please visit our online petition and sign your name in support of a state-wide ban on single use plastic shopping bags. We will combine our online petition with our written petition signatures and present this list at the State Roundtable in Brisbane in October.
Our goal is to reach 2,000 signatures by August 31st!
