SEVENTY per cent of Canberrans want the ban of lightweight plastic bags to continue, a new ACT government survey shows.
Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development Simon Corbell says an interim review showed that 66 per cent of people would also like the ban to be implemented nationally.
“The interim review shows that 84 per cent of Canberrans now carry a re-usable bag with them when doing their shopping instead of relying on bags at the counter,” Mr Corbell says.
The review was done by a telephone survey of primary shoppers in 600 ACT households, and evaluated community acceptance, reduction in plastic bag use, environmental outcomes and retailer compliance.
Mr Corbell says a more broad ranging review would take place after two years of the operation of the lightweight plastic bag ban.
“This interim review gives us an important snapshot of the views in the ACT community about the ban, but after another 12 months we will be able to look more closely at trends of plastic bag use, and reductions of bags to landfill,” he said.
“I am pleased to see that during the first 12 months there were no infringements issued to retailers breaching the ban, and I encourage this good compliance behaviour to continue,” he says.
For more information on the ban go to www.environment.act.gov.au
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