[Greens-Media] Greens MP enlists in Guerrilla Tactics against Plastic Bags

[Scott Hickie]

Office of Ian Cohen MLC &
Morsbag.com
Media Release	
11th December 2008

Greens MP Ian Cohen will be officially ‘bagged’ this weekend when
he receives the 500th Morsbag at the Bangalow Farmers markets in the NSW
Northern Rivers. He joins a group of sociable guerrilla baggers who are
taking matters into their own hands to tackle the plastic bag problem.
 
“Morsbags.com is a global project dedicated to making genuine green
shopping bags from donated recycled fabrics such as old sheets and doona
covers that would otherwise end up in landfill. The bags are made
locally by volunteers and given away to shoppers to encourage them to
give up their plastic bag habit,” says Morsbagger Jo Immig.
 
“I am honoured to be a part of such a creative grass roots movement
that is trying to reduce the ecological damage of plastic bags. It’s
initiatives such as Morsbags that really show up the retrograde
mentality of major political parties and industry bodies such as the
National Association of Retail Grocers,” says Greens MP Ian Cohen.
 
 “Clean Up Australia collected nearly half a million plastic bags
last year, and State and local governments spend about $200 million
cleaning them up. In marine environments, plastic bags are serial
killers. Marine wildlife often mistakes the bags as jellyfish and eats
them. The whale, fish or turtle dies from intestinal blockage, floating
to the surface awaiting the next victim,” says Jo Immig.
 
“South Australia has acknowledged the environmental impact of plastic
bags and will have a plastic bag ban in full effect by May 2009. In
Victoria, the four-week trial charging a 10c tax on single use plastic
bags saw a 79% reduction in plastic bag use, achieved across the three
trial areas. The Report also found that 86% of consumers supported the
initiative to reduce plastic bag use,” says Mr Cohen.
 
“In NSW, plastic bags have continually featured in successive NSW
Extended Producer Responsibility Priority Statements since 2004. The
Department of Environment and Climate Change stated in the most recent
priority statement that a producer responsibility scheme for plastic
bags could be initiated in NSW in the coming 12 months. What are they
waiting for?” says Cohen.  
 
 
“The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and major supermarket
chains were given a target of reducing single use plastic bags by 50%
and to increase the recycling of these bags by between 15 and 30% by
2005. The ARA Code of Practice for the Management of Plastic Bags
failed, only achieving a 34% reduction, yet the Environmental Protection
and Heritage Council (EPHC) have not stayed true to their word and
initiated EPR Regulation,” says Cohen.
 
“The NSW Government stands out for its lack of action on plastic
bags. This problem will never be solved by voluntary measures. It’s
time for the NSW Government to act rather than continue to lag behind on
this important environmental issue,” says Mr Cohen.