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Fremantle urges the State Government to support its ban on plastic bags

Upper House MPs will decide whether or not to strike out a City of Fremantle local law which bans the use of non-degradable plastic bags in shops.

A Parliamentary committee has decided to leave the decision up to the Legislative Council on whether it is appropriate for a local council to impose such a law.

If Upper House MPs do not support the law, they could have it struck out.

Fremantle Council passed the law in January which bans single-use plastic shopping bags, but has been waiting on the committee’s advice before implementing it.

Fremantle MP and committee member Simone McGurk said Labor supports the law.

“I think it’s good that a local council has taken this initiative to try and reduce plastic bag use and also I think it’s going to be a good opportunity, it’s a good trial if you like to see how this will be implemented in practice and it may get picked up by other local councils or in fact by other states.”

“I think there is a lot of support to try and reduce plastic bag use in the community, we know that so many plastic bags end up as landfill or just as litter on the streets and I think this initiative by one local council to implement a change that will try and reduce plastic bag use is good.”

Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt has urged all Upper House MPs to allow the law to stay.

“If they were to put this in place as a three-year trial for example I think that would be something that would be really supported by the Council and the community,” he said.

“I do think there’s a certain inevitability to a broader ban both on a State and a national level, we’re seeing them not only in South Australia, the Northern Territory.”

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