The Victorian statewide plastic bag ban is looming, with the ban coming into effect on November 01.
The bag ban will apply to all retailers regardless of size and will see a ban on all lightweight plastic shopping bags which have a thickness below 35 microns anywhere on the bag and includes degradable, biodegradable and compostable bags.
The ban comes after the Victorian Government undertook consultation with consumers in 2017-18 and received over 8000 submissions with 96% of submissions supporting the ban.
According to the Victorian Government, in the past Australians used up to 10 million plastic bags every day and four billion every year.
Of these, approximately 150 million end up in oceans and waterways, contributing to an estimated eight million tonnes of plastic dumped into the ocean every year.
Under the new legislation, retailers and businesses can be subject to two types of hefty fines for non-compliance.
The first fine will be in relation to supply of plastic bags to consumers.
Penalties will apply to retailers providing a banned plastic bag to another person to use to carry goods the retailer sells from the retailer’s premises.
The second offence will be in relation to misleading or false information provided about plastic bags.
Penalties will apply to a person who supplies or manufactures plastic bags who gives information that the person knows, or reasonably ought to know, is false or misleading (or withholds information) about the composition of a banned bag, or whether or not a bag is a banned plastic bag.
The penalty for both of the above offences are:
- In the case of a person, 60 penalty units (this currently equates to approx. $9,900 per offence).
- In the case of a body corporate, 300 penalty units (this currently equates to approx. $49,500 per offence).
Retailers are being encouraged to be well prepared for the change and have alternatives in place before November 01.
The National Retailers Association said that there's many options to ensure compliance with the new laws.
"The absolute best option is to not offer a bag if you can avoid it.
"Consider reusing stock boxes or encouraging customers to BYO bags.
"Reusable bags such as cotton, hemp, jute and fabric are allowed and preferred.
"Recyclable bags like paper and cardboard bags are allowed (but we recommending using ones that are sustainably-sourced or recycled content).
"Heavyweight, reusable plastic bags are allowed but you may want to consider using heavyweight recycled content like those used by major supermarkets.
"If you choose to use plastic bags, we strongly recommend that you do not use bags close to the minimum thickness. The law states that a banned bag is a bag where any part of the bag is 35 microns or less.
"As plastic can be inconsistent, make sure your supplier provides written evidence that your bags do not fall below the threshold in any part of the bag, in any batch.
"Introducing a reasonable charge for bags is a great way to reduce volume and cost, even if the bags are technically legal.
"Retailers in other states with bans who have introduced more sustainable options along with a bag fee (while providing ample notice for their customers) report up to 90% drop in bag volume.
"NRA research confirms that after a ban, 96% of customers are willing to pay for a bag if they forget their own, and they are more accepting of bag fees for truly reusable or recyclable bags rather than slightly thicker plastic," the Association said.