How green is your plastic policy? 12:21am 22.04.08

Green groups have labelled Victoria’s system to reduce plastic bags as a retreat from a 2006 election promise.

The State’s Environment Minister Gavin Jennings recently announced a pilot scheme, run by the Australia National Retailers Association, which will see plastic bags costing 25 cents. However, the levy will not be compulsory, leaving the retail industry to run the system on a voluntary basis.
 
The Boomerang Alliance, consisting of the Australian Conservation Foundation and Clean Up Australia, noted that this was a soft approach to what was supposed to be a phase in of a compulsory 10-cent levy on each bag from January 2009.
 
Jennings replied that a compulsory levy would line retailers’ pockets, while a voluntary system would provide money for environmental projects, including biodegradable bags. "I think anyone who ignores that as a very legitimate issue is not being a very good environmentalist,” he said. “By the end of the year we won't be the only state looking at this.”