Plasitc Bag-free Shopping In Australia

[clocker]

Excellent advice!

[Evil Gemini]

I dont see why we have to pay for plastic bags.

Dont we pay for it in GST ??

Goods and Services Tax ???

[j2k4]

Originally posted by neattairoski@9 December 2003 - 03:24
I dont see why we have to pay for plastic bags.

Dont we pay for it in GST ??

Goods and Services Tax ???

Don't quite get you, neattairoski.

The problem is re-cyc.

Can't compost the crap.

It is a problem.

Are you Aussie?

Not familiar with GST.

[Evil Gemini]

Yeah im In Aussie land.

Since its a service we shouldnt have to pay for it if the GST covers it.

[j2k4]

Originally posted by neattairoski@9 December 2003 - 03:33
Yeah im In Aussie land. 

Since its a service we shouldnt have to pay for it if the GST covers it.

Could (maybe "should") be, but, as with all other government programs, they can't plan for everything, and since it should be covered by your GST (and probably isn't) private industry can't step in but for the government to cry "FOUL", even if they're in no hurry to address it.

[Alex H]

Oh, for those who are unfamiliar with our shitty tax system, GST stands for Goods and Services Tax, which is a flat 10% tax on pretty much everything you buy. Its kind of like the Value Added Tax (VAT) in the UK.

And it is unfair because it makes the tax rate the same for a kid buying a $1 chocolate bar and a CEO buying a $100,000 sports car. And for business owners like me it makes administration much more difficult.

But back to the plastic bags. They're only good for 1 or 2 uses, then they're just waste. Paper bags (as a disposable bag) are much better because they can be pulped and recycled into new bags, or toilet paper, or boxes, or whatever. With a 10c "deposit" on them it will make your shopping bill go up, whith the cosequence that you will decide to use a less expensive form of packaging i.e. canvas or paper bags.

I still don't know why the rest of the country doesn't follow South Australia with its 5c refund on all plastic, glass and aluminium drink containers. We'd have a much cleaner environment, and all the homeless people would keep the streets clean by picking up the rubbish for the cash refund.

[clocker]

Originally posted by Alex H@9 December 2003 - 19:21
We'd have a much cleaner environment, and all the homeless people would keep the streets clean by picking up the rubbish for the cash refund.

It's nice of you to think of the homeless, but IRL that is not exactly how it works.

In Michigan, where my brother has several businesses and there is a deposit on cans and bottles, the homeless ( or just professional bottle pickers) routinely dump trash cans, comb them for cans and leave the mess behind.
There may be fewer bottles/cans laying about, but the resulting strew of garbage is much worse.

[Alex H]

Ah, there would be a way around it. "5c Refund Bin" next to regular garbage bins. Just leave the bin there and the scavengers will empty it. Everyone knows what attracts the refund, cause every damned container has it written on it.

A mate of mine collected a shitload of cans and bottles, hired a trailer and drove to South Australia. After all the costs were taken out we still made a profit of $90. It was very silly and took ages to collect them, but we got a holiday in SA out of!

[billyfridge]

Originally posted by Alex H@9 December 2003 - 03:03
I think the rest of the world might like to know about this initiative. Several towns in Australia have decided to ban plasitc shopping bags from retail outlets. Australia uses 7 billion plastic bags every year, and enough of them are disposed of badly to make them a big threat to our forna (especially marine life) and our general environment.

Many retailers here are now selling reuseable canvas or calico bags (for about $1)as an alternative, which is proving popular, and many other councils and local authorities are seriously looking at following this lead from Huskisson and Kangaroo Valley.

Wherever you live in the world this is a great way to help your environment. Make this an issue for your next local election.

Planet Ark's Plastic Bag Campaign

South Australian Government initiatives

Tourist town shuns plastic bags


PS. As j2k4 will inevitably point out, this will have major repecussions for industry - plastic bag makers will suffer badly. On the other hand, reusable bag makers will be much better off and smart people will be changing their businesses to meet the new demand. Sorry j2k4, thought I'd get in first

What goes around comes around. i was using canvas and cloth shopping bags
until early 70's when brown paper carrier bags came into use. the flimsy plastic bags are a bloody nuisance, they clog up the sewers, flutter like flags on trees and telegraph poles. some improvements in life are not always for the best.