Plastic bag ban

Article: plastic bag ban

South Australia leads the nation with the phasing out of lightweight, checkout-style plastic bags. The ban came into force on 4 May 2009.

With this government initiative there will be almost 400 million less plastic bags in South Australia. While the state cannot solve the plastic bag problem of the entire nation, we can show leadership in our own backyard by being the first to crack down on plastic bag pollution.

Remember to BYO shopping bags

• You can help retail workers by not overfilling or using dirty bags when you go shopping.
• The ban applies to lightweight, checkout-style plastic bags.
• Bags which are not banned include heavier department store bags, ‘barrier’ bags used for fruit and vegetables, compostable bags (which meet the Australian Standard) and paper bags.
• Fines will apply to retailers who either sell or give away the banned plastic bags.
• Customers cannot be fined if a retailer supplies a banned plastic bag to them.

The EPHC (Environment Protection & Heritage Council) maintains a large archive on plastic bags and their environmental impacts.