Please note: this is an archived news article release

This article was published on Tuesday, 15 October, 2019. The information contained within may be out of date or inaccurate. News articles and media releases older than 60 days are archived for future reference.

Are traders ready for the plastic bag ban?

Local businesses are urged to prepare ahead of the state-wide ban on lightweight plastic shopping bags. The ban includes compostable, degradable and biodegradable plastics and commences from 1 November 2019.

This new law will apply to all retailers and suppliers regardless of size or type—from supermarkets to fashion boutiques, from fast food outlets to petrol stations.

Until recently, Victorians have used over 1 billion plastic shopping bags every year. The majority of these bags end up in landfill and around 10 million end up as litter, polluting the environment and endangering wildlife.

The ban on lightweight plastic shopping bags aligns with the government’s agenda to reduce single-use plastics and plastic pollution more broadly, and to shift from a linear model of resource consumption to a more circular economy of reuse and recovery.

More information about this is available here.

The Victorian Government has engaged the National Retailers Association (NRA) to work with Victorian businesses in preparing for the ban. The NRA has set up a toll-free Bag Ban Hotline (1800 817 723) to provide business with support in transitioning away from single use lightweight plastic bags. And detailed information about the ban can be found at vicbagban.com.au and plasticbags.gov.au.