Facts and Fun Stuff

Facts

(thanks to Plastic Bag Free Daylesford)

  • Australia uses at least 5 billionplastic bags per year
  • Limited-use plastic bags are used on average for 12 minutes
  • Only 3% of plastic bags are recycled
  • Bags that are not recycled end up in our limited landfill or as litter in our natural environment having devastating effects on marine life, water systems and landscapes
  • Plastic bags can last up to 1000 years: every bit of plastic ever used still exists.
  • Biodegradable or degradable plastic bags are still single use and require oxygen to breakdown. In landfill they are buried and break down anaerobically, releasing methane, a major contributor to greenhouse gases
  • Plastic bags are contributing to the 8 million tonnes of plastic that is entering our oceans annually

Mount Alexander Shire plastic Bag usage.

Extrapolating from (conservative) National figures:

  • As .073% of the Australian population, the Mount Alexander Shire population use at least 6 millionplastic bags every year, or 10000 per day!
  • 5 million bags end up in MAS landfill each year.
  • Around 36,500 bags end up as litter each year in our shire.

Fun Stuff

Take Your Canvas Bags– Tim Minchin

Plastic Free July– It’s as easy as that

Bag it– Intro

Our all time favourite!!! EcoTaliban– Portlandia

Kids Take Action on Plastic Bags