It’s an awesome idea!

During the last few weeks Big W, Coles and Woolworths have undergone the extraction of single use plastic bags! FINALLY! It’s probably the biggest step forward in relation to the zero-plastic scheme and I think it’s an awesome idea.

Now I know I’m probably not old enough (18 for the record) to have too much experience with this topic or even have too much of a voice because really, I don’t do the shopping each week, but I do shop a lot! So, what other topic is there to talk about other than the hot plastic bag ban for 3 major retailers!

For years many people, myself included, always thought when are they going to stop stating the obvious and actually put their actions into words? They finally have, but all we’re hearing are complaints, and the thought of people having to take their own bags is like the end of the world to some!

There are two sorts of people when it comes to situations like this. The impatient one, also known as my mum! These people have no time or room in their day and handbag to store reusable bags, and out of pure frustration will try carrying the groceries to the car not being in bags because they don’t want to cart them, or purely just don’t want to stop and pack them. Then, there’s the second type, who have used reusable bags before the ban even occurred and do it out of pure kind heartedness to reduce the plastic on our earth.

I used to be the person that would carry plastic bags around because I was young, and I never really thought anything of it, but after watching videos on all the plastic in the ocean and realising that 1 in 3 turtles have plastic bags in their stomach made me feel guilty for what I was doing. I decided to switch to tote bags which I have in the boot of my car. Because I don’t shop for groceries, I don’t need to carry around freezer bags and chose to buy those funky $2 tote bags from Cotton On, they also are eco-friendly, and the money goes towards helping children less fortunate then us. Why not kill 2 birds with one stone!  

One thing that is very disappointing about the whole situation is the verbal abuse workers are receiving from this ban and I have seen this first hand, I feel so sorry for them, working in retail is hard enough these days and this can make going to work so much harder. Workers did not choose for this ban to happen, so next time you think of taking it out on a worker, remember they are just doing their job.

Although, the ban has been put into place, one thing that I still run my mind over is the fact that there is still so much unnecessary excess wrapping on fruit, vegetables and other foods!? Hopefully after the debate on this topic slows down, they’ll aim to start reducing the plastic wasted on food. There are many opinions on this topic, mine is one of the many out there. Many complain that retailers are only doing this to make profit from the 15c bags and aren’t actually doing it out of pure consideration, A whopping $71 million profit is to be obtained and others go on about how it makes no difference as the stores still sell plastic. The list is never ending, ALDI have done this for years without problem, so hopefully society will come to peace over the decision.

So to those people who are choosing the eco-friendly option, I congratulate you! I feel as though our generation will really make the difference in years to come as we pass this information and practice onto future generations! I congratulate those people who are starting to make a difference or continue to do so.