DON’T BAG THE ENVIRONMENT SAYS SUTHERLAND

Mayoral candidate Cr Allan Sutherland will take up the use and disposal of plastic bags with the three amalgamating Councils as well as State and Federal MPs seeking an investigation into the possible introduction of degradable bags.

“A sudden ban on plastic shopping bags has major implications in a number of areas, including people’s daily shopping habits,” Cr Sutherland said.

He said opponents of degradable plastic bags used the cost of production to argue against their introduction, but many businesses were already using them. One Melbourne-based company recently won a contract in the European market with Nestle to produce bioplastics in the food giant’s dairy chocolate range.

“If we can get support from all levels of Government for a scientific investigation, we may be able to identify cheaper methods of production and estimate the true cost of non-degradable bags to the environment,” Cr Sutherland said.

“That cost includes not only removal from fragile eco-systems, but also the destruction of bird and marine life,” he said.

“The new Moreton Bay Regional Council area encompasses a wide section of Moreton Bay, Pumicestone Passage, the North and South Pine Rivers, the Caboolture River and dozens of smaller waterways which feed into the bay,” Cr Sutherland said.

“A total ban on plastic shopping bags obviously appeals to many people, but the public is entitled to know what is going to replace them,” Cr Sutherland said. “While the cost of degradable bags is roughly twice that of conventional plastic, their use on a far wider scale would reduce that cost considerably.”

Cr Sutherland said garbage disposal was one of the key areas that would need new policy development in the new Council.

“I would like to see the new Council partner with the State and Federal Governments to set up a trial in the use of degradable bags within the new Council area,” Cr Sutherland said. “Results of such a trial could be of enormous benefit to the entire nation.”