Pay five cents for the convenience of using a single use plastic bag! Yes, and that is exactly what they do in the United Kingdom.
And again, yes, that could and should happen here in Shepparton.
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| Professor Wouter Pooretinga from Cadiff University. |
Of course, the first question is why?
Put simply the plastic bags we use, almost casually and then throw away, are resource intensive and cause huge damage to our environment; an environment you and I, not to mention myriad other species depend upon to survive.
Plastic bags and petroleum are intrinsically linked. Nearly ten percent of our oil supply goes to making plastic. It is estimated that some 12 million barrels of oil a year are used in making the plastic bags used in America alone.
Our behaviour reflects that of Americans who throw away about 10 bags a week and just like our U.S. counterparts, we do pretty much the same. That’s a lot of bags.
Most of the plastic ever produced by humanity still exists, somewhere.
The success of the UK plastic bag charging program, the disruption it has had on habit and resultant “spillover” effects was recently discussed by a professor of Environmental Psychology from Cardiff University at a University of Melbourne lecture.
Professor Wouter Poortinga was openly excited about the success of the UK program pointing the “spillover effects” that drew people into talking about the reasons for the plastic bag charge, subsequently making them more conscious of environmental matters.
The program to charge for single use plastic bags, introduced late in 2015, has had, he explained, overwhelming support and was now been accepted by most people (95 per cent), who had switched to taking their own reusable bags when going shopping.
The reasons to rid the community of plastic bags, he explained are clearly understood by environmentalists, but even those less conscious of those urgencies, seemed to embrace the idea.
Questioned about why people took up the idea so quickly and enthusiastically, Professor Poortinga said the the money raised from the charge went to charities named by shopkeepers.
He said that it was clear to people that beyond doing the right thing by the environment, they were also helping out, even in a small way, various community charities.
It would be a wonderful project for the Shepparton Chamber of Commerce and Industry to play a part in initiating a plastic bag charging system throughout the city - it’s a classic “win win” situation.
The experience of Prof Poortinga illustrates that it is something welcomed by both retailers and the shoppers. Oh, and of course the environment!
Should we in Shepparton follow the lead suggested by Prof Poortinga, not only would we rid ourselves of the accursed plastic bag, but we could help groups such as the Shepparton-based, The Community Fund.
