PLASTIC BAGS

The Hon. R.D. LAWSON (14:28): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Environment and Conservation a question about the plastic bag ban.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.D. LAWSON: Since 2002, successive environment ministers, the Premier and acting environment ministers have claimed that South Australia is about to ban plastic bags in this state. For example, in June last year the present minister announced that the government was considering an outright ban, or a price-based ban where retailers must charge a fee on single-use plastic bags of 10¢ a bag. In that statement the minister said that plastic bags can take up to 100 years to break down. In another statement, issued earlier this week, the minister has adjusted her opinion of the time taken to break down a plastic bag from 100 years to between 15 and 1,000 years. The government has apparently abandoned its proposal to charge 10¢ a bag as an option.

The minister also announced this week that, in many council areas, plastic bags are the single main contaminant of kerbside recycling. My questions to the minister are:

1. In what South Australian council areas do plastic bags constitute the single main contaminant of kerbside recycling?

2. What is the basis of the change in the minister's scientific evidence that bags that last year took up to 100 years to break down now are said to be taking up to 1,000 years to break down in the environment?

3. What is the justification for the government's abandoning its proposal to require retailers to charge 10¢ a bag?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health) (14:31): In relation to the questions that I have been asked about plastic bags, this government has been very clear in its commitment to ban free single-use plastic bags of the type that we typically see in supermarkets. We have led the nation in terms of our commitment to that ban.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Exactly. South Australia has led the charge on such a ban. We have spent quite a considerable amount of time leading discussions. The former environment minister (Hon. John Hill) spent considerable time leading discussion papers at the inter-ministerial council meeting that deals with these issues, and I have done the same. Although South Australia has made the commitment to ban free single-use plastic bags by the end of this year, we have also expressed a goal to try to achieve a nationally consistent approach, in terms of the phasing out of plastic bags right throughout Australia by the end of this year.

We have announced that the next inter-ministerial committee meeting is to be held in April this year and, again, South Australia will be part of leading the charge in this debate. Time is clearly running out for the states and territories to make a decision about signing up to a nationally consistent approach—Clean Up Australia Day. We have put the states and territories on notice and we have indicated that, unless they can sign off at that meeting, or within very close proximity to it, we will be prepared to go it alone and we will introduce our legislation to bring about that ban by the end of the year. So, we have put them on notice. South Australia should be very proud of the role that it has played in these matters, not only in terms of the banning of single-use bags but also our role in CDL, and we also lead the nation with respect to recycling. So, I am very proud to say that we lead the nation on a number of these environmental fronts.

Our concern is that Australians currently use 4 billion of these single-use plastic bags a year. That equates to about 1,600 tonnes of plastic, which we know is made from polluting petrochemicals. Most of those bags, because of their very flimsy integrity, are only ever able to be used once. Some are reused as bin liners, and such like, but what we know is that, because of the flimsy integrity of the plastic bags in question, most of them are used only once. In terms of the specific council areas, I do not have that information with me today; however, I am happy to bring back that information to the council. We know that plastic bags are incredibly damaging to our environment—

The Hon. R.D. Lawson interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: The honourable member can sit there and say, 'Ha, Ha, she doesn't know which specific council.' What I do know specifically here today is that the single use plastic bags are extremely bad for our environment. They are incredibly wasteful of our environment and its resources, and we should get rid of them. That is exactly what this government is doing and we are very proud to do it. Not only do they litter our streets and streams but also they clog up our landfill, and they also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. They are bad for our environment. We need to get rid of them, and that is exactly what we will do. The timing of the breaking down of the bags depends on a wide range of different factors.

It depends on what condition the bag is in at the time. It depends on temperature, moisture levels and exposure to sunlight. A wide range of factors contribute to the rate of a plastic bag breaking down. To get hung up on exactly how many years is missing the point. One year of a wasteful single use product being in the environment is bad for this environment. It is using up precious resources unnecessarily, because, with respect to greenhouse gas emissions and what have you, they cost us energy in terms of manufacturing them. Most of them can be used only once.

We are trying to ensure that they are replaced with alternatives that can be reused so that it is good for the environment. It is also good for local councils as it does improve their kerbside recycling ability because it is a cleaner waste. It is a win-win for everyone. The honourable member needs to lift his chin a little and look at the broader benefits for the environment and for our local community.