From July 2018, West Australian retailers will be banned from offering shoppers single-use plastic bags.
Western Australia has become the latest jurisdiction to announce a ban on single-use plastic bags. Shoppers will be required to utilise reusable bags under the new changes.
Environment Minister Stephen Dawson said the announcement had been backed by major retailers.
“We will talk to industry over the next few months about our scheme,” he said.
“There is public support for it now so we wanted to give the community some confidence that we are bringing in a ban across the state.”
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan said single-use plastic bags had a devastating environmental impact.
“Plastic can blow all over the place. It can blow into our rivers, our wetlands and our oceans and it kills marine life,” he said.
Mr Dawson said that any backlash from shoppers and stores would only be minimal.