Plastic Facts

Did You Know…

The average Australian household uses over 500 shopping bags every year.
Australians dump over 7,150 recyclable plastic bags into landfill every minute. That’s over 120 bags per second, 429,000 per hour, 10,296,000 per day or over 3,758,000,000 per year!
It takes over 21,500 tonnes of plastic to produce the 3.92 Billion new shopping bags that Australia will use this year.
If all 3.92 Billion shopping bags that Australia used in a year were tied end to end, you would have a bit of plastic that could circle the globe 24 times!
Each non-woven recyclable bag that can be purchased from this site has the potential to stop 1,000 plastic shopping bags being used over its lifetime.
Plastic shopping bags, except for the thicker department store style, can be recycled. Take them back to your supermarket!
Remember, plastic shopping bags are recyclable!! Take them back to your supermarket!!

The Problem…

Plastic shopping bags are bad for the environment. They can last in the environment for over 1,000 years. Many of the bags end up in rivers, creeks, on beaches and in the oceans. It’s estimated that between 50 and 80 Million new bags are entering the environment every year.
Plastic shopping bags are made from non-renewable natural resources such as crude oil, gas and coal. Think about it this way – just 8.7 bags contain enough petroleum to drive your car 1km!
When these resources are used to make plastic shopping bags, they emit dangerous greenhouse gases into the air. Greenhouse gases contribute to worldwide climate change.
Current research suggests that over $4 Million is being spent per year cleaning up plastic bags.
Plastic shopping bags in our oceans kill marine life. It’s thought that there are over 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in each square mile of our oceans. These pieces of plastic are currently killing 1 Million sea birds, 100,000 sea mammals and countless fish each and every year.
Here’s a scary fact for you – 90% of Albatross chicks on Midway Island (a remote Pacific atoll) had plastic bag remnants in their gullets. At the same time, turtles, dolphins, seals and killer whales choke on plastic bags after confusing them with jellyfish.
Some 20,000 tonnes of plastic bags end up in landfill sites around Australia every year. Many people think that reusing their plastic shopping bags for the rubbish is a good idea. It’s not. The food scraps and most of the other waste material breaks down over time. The plastic shopping bags do not break down. When everything else has gone, the plastic shopping bags are left behind.
Each year Australians use over 3.92 Billion new plastic shopping bags! That’s a lot of plastic bags.

What You Can Do…

Use non-woven recyclable bags that you can have custom made to any size, using any colour material with anything you want printed on them. You’ll find order details on this website / here (link to order page).
While you’re waiting for your bags to arrive, here are 4 simple steps everyone can take: -
- Refuse.
- Reduce.
- Reuse.
- Recycle.
If you’re only buying a few items, refuse a plastic bag and carry them.
Take recyclable bags with you when shopping. Order some now from this site. You can have them in any size and colour you want. We can even print on them for you.
If you must use a plastic bag, use the same bag for multiple purchases from multiple stores. Don’t take a new bag from each store.
If an item already has a handle, (e.g. Dog food, nappies) don’t put them into plastic bags. Use the handles for the reason they were put on there.
Don’t use plastic shopping bags for bin liners. They just end up in landfill where they don’t break down.
Reuse your plastic bags in the home. Store clothes and other household items in them. Have your kids take their lunch to school in them.
Always keep a spare recyclable bag in the car with you. You never know when it’ll come in handy.
Remember, plastic shopping bags are recyclable! Take them back to your supermarket!