Dog bag swap to rid landfill of a million plastic bags annually

Council will switch to compostable dog waste bags starting later this year.

One of a raft of new initiatives in the draft 2017/18 budget, it will remove around 1.2 million plastic bags from the environment annually.

“Council is serious about reducing plastic bag waste and the impact it has on the environment. That’s why we’re pleased to be one of the first councils in Queensland to make the switch to compostable bags,” Mayor Tony Wellington said.

“Millions of plastic bags end up in landfill, not to mention parks, gardens and waterways. They can have a devastating impact on the environment, particularly marine life. Councillor Jurisevic has been a keen advocate for this change, and so we have included it as a budget incentive.”

Councillor Joe Jurisevic said, “Replacing our current dog waste bags with plant-based compostable bags is an important part of our commitment to reducing environmental hazards and excess waste. Made from corn starch, these bags decompose in the environment.”

“By contrast the bags we currently use simply break into smaller pieces of plastic, which remains in the environment.”

“Council provides more than a million dog bags to the public annually. That’s a lot of plastic, we’ll be removing from the waste stream and natural areas as a result of this change.”

The compostable bag roll-out comes ahead of the State Government’s single-use plastic shopping bag ban, to take effect from July 2018 – a move Council supports.

“The State’s leadership in banning single-use plastic shopping bags in Queensland is commendable. Council too is pleased to lead by example on this issue as part of our Towards Zero Waste initiative,” the Mayor said.

The 2017/18 budget, due to be ratified on June 29, also includes extra resources for Council’s local laws team.

“This will assist the local laws team in its efforts to better educate the community about responsible pet ownership,” the Mayor said.

26 June 2017