The City of Canning voted to support a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags in a move that would follow several Australian states toward a plastic bag-less future.
The city made the decision as a show of support for a wider implementation of laws prohibiting the distribution of single-use bags rather than an enactment of a local law at last week’s council meeting after the issue was raised by deputy mayor Lindsay Holland.
The council also voted to request a report from the city’s chief executive on the opportunity to prepare a local law to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags.
The city said plastic bags had become a serious issue for the area with thousands ending up discarded in parks, streets and caused serious harm to waterways.
South Australia implemented a ban on single-use plastic bags in 2009 and the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory followed in 2011.
Australians use more than 10 million plastic bags each day and the cost to clean up littered bags is estimated at about $4 million a year.
Businesses in WA such as Bunnings and Ikea have already placed bans on single-use bags.
Retailer Target began offering only biodegradable plastic bags for 10c each nationwide in 2009 but after about 500 complaints a year discontinued the scheme in 2013 and resumed offering single-use bags.
Banning single-use bags had become popular across councils in the Perth metro area with the Cities of Bayswater and Swan supporting a state-level ban.
The city will now respond to a request by the Western Australian Local Government Association Municipal Waste Authority Council for feedback on a statewide plastic bag ban and write to the Minister for Environment Stephen Dawson outlining the city’s position and advocacy for a statewide ban.
Chief executive Arthur Kyron had six months to prepare a Plastic Bag Reduction Local Law for consideration by the council.
Councillor Christine Cunningham said it was important to encourage responsible shopping bag use.
“If we have a statewide campaign it will be more effective than just every local government trying to sort things out,” she said.
“We’ve got to all be in it together then hopefully everybody will be on board to support this initiative to reduce the amount of plastic in our environment.”
