Press release – 1 August, 2017Ahead of Minister Upton’s speech at the Keep NSW Beautiful Congress today, Greenpeace sent a colourful message to the NSW Environment Minister to clean up the state’s act and finally ban the bag.Greenpeace parked a 5 metre high mobile billboard out the front of the Congress at the Kirribilli Club for the Environment Minister to see out the window as she gave her speech.
Greenpeace’s plastic bag campaigner questioned the Environment Minister as she walked in to give her speech (video).
“In order to Keep NSW Beautiful we need the Berejiklian Government to get with the program and ban the bag, just like other states and the big supermarket chains have,” Greenpeace plastic bag campaigner Samantha Wockner.
“Minister Upton has an important opportunity to finally ban the bag on Friday when she meets with environment ministers from other states and territories.
“Most of the other states and territories are already banning single use plastic bags and even Coles and Woolworths have announced they will phase them out over the next 12 months.
“It’s time for NSW to clean up its act.
“Every year in Australia, tens of millions of plastic bags make their way into our waterways and eventually end inside marine life and our food.
“It’s embarrassing that it is taking NSW so long to act, despite being Australia’s most populous state and having so many beautiful beaches and waterways that need protection from plastic pollution,” Ms Wockner said.
The giant billboard displayed powerful videos (http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJXR1MHD) and images urging Minister Upton and Premier Berejiklian to ban the bag.
Photos of the billboard outside the Congress (http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJX48UPR)
Contact – Monique Vandeleur 0419 588 430
Plastic facts:
Plastic pollution is killing our marine life. 30% of the world’s turtles and 90% of seabird species have now ingested plastic debris.
Australians use tens of millions of plastic bags each day.
An estimated 50 million of the littered bags end up in our waterways and oceans each year.
There is now an estimated 1.7 million tonnes of plastic contaminating our waterways.
South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and ACT all have bans on single-use plastic bags.
Queensland will introduce a ban in July 2018 while NSW and Victoria are yet to implement a policy on bags. Western Australia has stated it hopes to bring in a ban on bags in the next 18 months.