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National Tree Day Planet Ark Home
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Coles Bay, Tasmania Australia's First Plastic Bag Free Town 
Photo courtesy of Freycinet and Coles Bay Tourism Association Since April 2003, all retail outlets in Coles Bay, including both supermarkets, have banned plastic check-out shopping bags. In the first twelve months, they stopped the use of 350,000 plastic check-out bags. Planet Ark worked for some months in partnership with Coles Bay retailers who were led in this endeavour by Ben Kearney, the owner of the local bakery. Ben Kearney has inspired people right across Australia and around the world by coordinating Coles Bay - ‘Australia's First Plastic Bag Free Town'. As a result, Coles Bay was awarded the Environmental Excellence Award by the Tasmanian Government. Ben Kearney also won the national Local Hero Award for 2005 at the Australia Day award ceremony and also Tasmanian of the Year in May 2005 for his efforts. Click here to read more.
As plastic bag alternatives in Coles Bay, they are offering a strong reusable paper bag with a handle, for 25c. The other alternative on offer is a Planet Ark reusable calico bag selling for $2.50. Coles Bay plays host to whales on their annual migration along the eastern seaboard. One of the reasons Coles Bay has gone Plastic-Check-out Bag Free is to protect these whales and to stop the plastic bag littering of the adjoining Freycinet National Park. The Coles Bay ban on plastic checkout bags unleashed a firestorm of positive publicity both here and overseas.
"Going plastic bag free has been great for our business and great for our town. It has really bound the community together and united us with this common goal. We are all now seeing how small changes to our habits can have a big impact on our local environment, and a huge impact on all the people who see what we have done down here. Our customers and our staff love us not using plastic bags anymore. We have sent out bags to people in New Zealand the United Kingdom and the United States who have written to us wanting to know more about what we are doing to protect this amazing part of the world."
"Staff and customers at the Iluka supermarket have found the transition, from plastic shopping bags to calico & paper shopping bags, to be a simple and rewarding change. Australian tourists flock to Coles Bay in their thousands. Each visitor has the opportunity to purchase calico bags from Australia's first plastic shopping bag free town and support the initiative. On average these customers purchase 8 bags each. The specially produced Coles Bay printed calico and paper bags have proved popular with tourists." "I advise any town who is considering the elimination of plastic shopping bags to go for it. You will never look back!" Rebecca Siemerink, Iluka Supermarket "Has pulled you into line, now we give more thought to recycling" "Great achievement for a small community" "This initiative has, with pride, drawn our community closer together" "It's marvellous, even our son has taken information back to where he lives in the endeavour to have his town become plastic bag free also"
"Being able to achieve this has given our community the strength to tackle other issues"
"Thank you for starting the trend away from those ghastly plastic bags" "No plastic bags, I am very impressed" "Congratulations on your shopping bag initiative" "Proud that your beautiful town is the first to be plastic bag free" "Excellent idea" "...how proud of you I am, your saying NO to plastic bags" |
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