Bag-Free February

Queensland Conservation is campaigning for retailers and consumers to ‘kick the plastic bag habit’ this month.

Bag-Free February is an initiative of Queensland Conservation’s ‘Plastic Bag-Free Queensland’ campaign. Queensland Conservation Executive Director Toby Hutcheon said the initiative encourages people to swear off plastic shopping bags during the month of February and see how easy it is to create a plastic bag-free Queensland.

“The aim of a bag-free February is to raise awareness about the harmful affects of plastic bags in our community and we hope that, after spending a month free from using plastic bags, that many individuals will continue to use alternatives when out shopping,” Mr Hutcheon said.

“Finding an alternative to single-use plastic bags is easy. Shoppers can, ideally, bring their own reusable bags. These can be made from anything: fabric, green bags, recycled plastic and jute for example.”

Mr Hutcheon suggests retailers offer alternatives such as boxes or compostable plastic bags.

“South Australia, the Northern Territory and the ACT have all enacted bans on single-use, non-compostable plastic bags. South Australia’s ban means that 400 million less plastic bags go into landfill every year,” he said. 

“For the sake of our environment and to reduce waste, isn’t it worth a try?”

Source: http://retailmedia.com.au/resources/RW_eNews/RW_eNews_010213.html