Getting rid of plastic bags is a good start
Reusable material being dumped into landfill is the real problem. IF YOU'RE left holding a handful of plastic bags after you do the big supermarket shop and you don't feel guilty, then you might be as impervious as the plastic bag itself is to breaking down in the environment. Images of distressed penguins and sea turtles wrapped in plastic bags should come to mind. In political terms, ridding supermarkets of the bags was a "no brainer", even though the question of who pays hasn't been easy going for federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett.