From Boomerang Alliance
http://www.boomerangalliance.org.au/
Today has been pretty crazy with an announcement from one big supermarket after the other. Woolworths was the first one to open the breach by announcing that they will ban lightweight plastic bags in their stores nationally from July 2018. Coles followed suit just three hours later. Harris Farm didn't want to be outdone and just committed to ban bags by January 2018! This will save billions of plastic bags from polluting the environment and being dumped in landfill annually. Don't you love the domino effect?
Victory is within reach. Australia's Environment Ministers are meeting at the end of July and plastic bags will be on their agenda. Today's announcement will surely influence their discussion but we have to make sure - and the next few weeks are critical for increasing pressure on the three remaining governments without a ban on all stores.
Momentum is building to get a ban on single-use lightweight plastic bags in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia. Nothing should stop them from banning bags once and for all now.
Sending a personal email is the most effective tool of advocacy. Please take a minute to protect our beautiful oceans and its marine creatures.
send message at
http://www.boomerangalliance.org.au/email_bags
From Greenpeace Australia Pacific
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY HUGE: Today, supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles announced they will phase out single-use plastic bags in the next 12 months! This is an incredible win for people power!
Woolies made the announcement first and as I was madly typing out an email to share the good news with you… Coles came to the table and announced their own phase out. This is incredible - and proof that when you get one major brand to change its ways, others will fall in line (CommBank and coal anyone?).
Coles and Woolies hand out billions of single-use plastic bags every year, with millions making their way into our environment. Their decisions are good news for turtles, dolphins, whales and our beaches.
The supermarkets have stepped up on plastic bags where our Environment Ministers in NSW, Vic and WA have fallen behind. Supermarkets aren’t the only place you can get a single-use plastic bag handed to you, after all. robert, you’ve already helped win a ban on single-use plastic bags in Queensland - now it’s time to focus on the final remaining states. Here’s what you can do:
If you haven’t already - add your name to the petition calling on the State Environment Ministers in NSW, WA and Vic to ban the bag - this is how we won it in QLD, so let’s do it again.
see
https://act.greenpeace.org.au/petitions/ban-the-bag-state-environment-ministers
A nation-wide ban on single-use plastic bags has never been closer. So while we have momentum - let’s focus in on the final remaining states and ban the bag once and for all.
For years now, Woolies and Coles have heard from customers and members of the public like you that they should get rid of single-use plastic bags. You’ve helped show the way by talking about the issue with your friends, going to market stalls and joining the ban the bag team. You're part of an amazing collection of community groups who work tirelessly on this issue, such as the Boomerang Alliance, Australian Marine Conservation Society, Take 3 and many many more.
Now, let’s get single-use plastic bags banned for good by the remaining States - and win a single-use plastic bag-free Australia
