From 1 July 2018 lightweight plastic bags less than 35 microns thick – including biodegradable bags – will be banned in Queensland.
A biodegradable bag is a bag made from natural material such as corn-starch (rather than petrochemical HDPE or LDPE plastic) and is designed to break down.
According to the Queensland Government’s discussion paper, “all existing plastic bag legislation in Australia exempts biodegradable bags from the ban where they meet the Australian Standard for compostability. However, while there has been considerable research into biodegradable plastics, studies have shown there is no significant difference between standard and ‘biodegradable’ plastics in the way these plastics behave when ingested. These studies suggest that biodegradable plastics bags do not break down any faster when ingested than a ‘normal’ petrochemical plastic bag.”
Given the potential impact on Queensland marine life, the Queensland Government has decided to include biodegradable bags in the ban.