Supermarkets step up to meet global plastic challenge on World Environment Day

Media Release: Hon. Josh Frydenberg MP

Minister for the Environment and Energy, Josh Frydenberg, says Australians used 5.66 billion single-use plastic bags last financial year. Some of which contributed to the 13 million tonnes of plastic which makes its way into our oceans each year, entangling or being eaten by marine life such as turtles, sea birds and whales.

June 5, 2018 is World Environment Day, and Australia’s largest supermarkets are taking robust action to phase out single-use plastic bags.

Coles has committed to phasing out single-use plastic bags as well as reducing plastic wrapping on fruit and vegies and to replacing meat and poultry product packaging with recycled and renewable materials.

Meanwhile, Woolworths has announced it will no longer provide single-use plastics bags for customers across their supermarkets while also planning to introduce a ban on plastic straws by the end of this year. This is on top of its commitment to remove plastic wrap from some of its fruit and vegies as well.

This means billions of these single-use plastic bags and other plastics will no longer take up space in landfill or harm our environment.

The Government is also working to reduce Australia’s waste and increase demand for recyclable products.

The Government has recently joined with industry bodies to phase out microbeads in rinse off products and now 94 per cent of cosmetic and personal care products are microbead-free. The result is that billions of these tiny plastics no longer enter our oceans.

The Government is also working to cut down on the amount of waste produced by ensuring that 100 per cent of Australian packaging will be recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025 or earlier.

How can the NRA help you?

The NRA is helping retailers transition to plastic bag free on the 1st of July 2018. We have joined forces with Mal Meninga to launch a state-wide education campaign asking consumers to get behind the Queensland Government’s ban on single-use lightweight plastic shopping bags. Find out more >

Questions about the plastic bag bans?