Video Information
On January 1, 2017, Al Jazeera televised a report on the French government banning thin, single-use plastic bags.
On February 3, 2016, Planet Forward produced a segment on the banning or taxing of plastic bags.
On June 7, 2016, Greenpeace Australia Pacific produced a short video clip attempting to alert viewers to the dangers plastic bags pose to marine life.
On April 28, 2015, ABC News in the United States televised a segment demonstrating the health risks associated with reusable grocery bags.
On December 13, 2013, D News produced a segment in which it considered the relative advantages of paper and plastic bags.
On July 12, 2013, Channel 10 News televised a report on the Queensland government’s then decision not to ban plastic bags.
On May 17, 2012, BC Biology’s Channel televised a segment that considered the relative advantages of paper over plastic bags and determined neither was desirable.
On November 15, 2010, GreatPitchMedia published a report suggesting there was an unsafe amount of lead in reusable gracery pags.
On April 20, 2009 Ban the Bag uploaded a video of the death of a Brydes whale that was stranded on a Cairns beach.
A post-mortem showed it had swallowed six square metres of plastic bags. (Please note: this video contains distressing images.)
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Web links, documents and video clips
On April 19, 2017, The Sydney Morning Herald published a report titled 'The Project and Clean Up Australia campaign to ban plastic bags in three states'
The article outlines The Project and Clean Up Australia's challenge to the governments of Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia to ban single-use plastic bags in these states.
The full text of the article can be accessed at http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/news-and-current-affairs/the-project-and-clean-up-australia-campaign-to-ban-plastic-bags-in-three-states-20170419-gvo1l1.html
On March 28, 2017, The Age published an editorial titled 'Change is in the bag, but Australia's lawmakers lag on plastic bans'
The editorial argues for the Victorian, New South Wales and Western Australian government's to ban plastic bags and for consumers to change their habits.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-editorial/change-is-in-the-bag-but-australias-lawmakers-lag-on-plastic-bans-20170328-gv8gwo.html
On March 20, 2017, the Encyclopaedia Britannica updated its entry titled 'Plastic pollution'. The entry details the nature and causes of plastic pollution and gives detailed information on its negative effect on marine life.
The full text can be accessed at https://www.britannica.com/science/plastic-pollution
On March 17, 2017, The Star Tribune published a comment by Matt Seaholm, executive director of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, a lobby group which supports the continued manufacture and use of single-use plastic bags. The comment is titled 'Facts don't support column's call for ban on plastic retail bags'
The comment argues in favour of single-use plastic bags.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.startribune.com/facts-don-t-support-column-s-call-for-ban-on-plastic-retail-bags/416476143/
On March 3, 2017, The Brisbane Times published a report titled 'Shopping bag ban: Queenslanders send govt "clear message"'
The report notes that 95 percent of the 26,000 submissions the Queensland government received on the question of banning plastic bags favoured the proposal.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/shopping-bag-ban-queenslanders-send-govt-clear-message-20170302-guozoz.html
On March 1, 2017, the Queensland government outlined some of the measures it would be taking to reducing plastic pollution as part of its waste and recycling strategy.
The full text can be accessed at https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/waste/plastic-bags-drink-containers.html
On November 25, 2016, ABC News published a report titled 'Single-use plastic bags to be banned in Queensland from 2018'
The Queensland Environment Minister, Steven Miles, made the announcement and gave the reasons his government had taken this decision.
The full text of this report can be accessed at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-25/queensland-to-ban-single-use-plastic-bags-from-2018/8056084
On February 28, 2016, The Herald Sun published a comment by Patrick Carlyon titled 'Calls to ban the plastic bags carry very little weight'
The piece argues that human convenience is more important than environmental considerations.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/patrick-carlyon/calls-to-ban-the-plastic-bags-carry-very-little-weight/news-story/17a84b0423ddb2a02ab64b32a5e976a1
In February 2016, the state of New South Wales and the Environment Protection Authority published a report titled 'Plastic shopping bags: Options paper: Practical actions for plastic shopping bags'
The report considers ways of addressing the pollution problem posed by plastic bags.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/resources/waste/160143-plastic-shopping-bags-options.pdf
The October 2015 edition of Reason published a comment and analysis by Katherine Mangu-Ward titled 'Plastic Bags Are Good for You'
The article disputes many of the negative claims made about single-use plastic bags, questions the conservation status of alternative carry bags and highlights the efficiency of the single-use bags.
The full text can be accessed at http://reason.com/archives/2015/09/01/plastic-bags-are-good-for-you
On September 10, 2015, the Australian Government released the results of the 'Senate Inquiry: The threat of marine plastic pollution in Australia'
The report gives detailed information on the scope and impacts of marine plastic pollution in Australia.
A pdf of the report can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/mpkktdu
In August 2015 Clean Up Australia published a report titled 'Report on Actions to Reduce circulation of Single-use Plastic Bags around the World'
The report considers the problem world-wide and then outlines measures that have been taken to address it in a number of countries, including Australia.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.cleanup.org.au/PDF/au/cua_plastic_bag_usage_around_world_august-2015.pdf
On May 13, 2015, MPR News published an expository report titled 'The debate over banning plastic bags explained'
The report gives a brief but thoughtful overview of the debate.
The full text can be accessed at https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/05/13/plastic-bags
On April 10, 2015, Science News for Students produced an extensive article explaining the manner in which plastic particles in the ocean are believed to enter the marine foodweb.
The report is titled 'Tiny plastic, big problem'
The full text can be accessed at https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/tiny-plastic-big-problem
On October 8, 2014, Media Matters for America published a comment and analysis titled 'California's Plastic Bag Ban: Myths And Facts'
The article looks in detail at a number of the negative claims made about the ban and argues they are false.
The full text can be accessed at https://mediamatters.org/research/2014/10/08/californias-plastic-bag-ban-myths-and-facts/201064
On September 15, 2014, Mother Jones published an analysis by Katie Rose Quandt titled 'California Just Passed a Plastic Bag Ban. Here's What You Need to Know'
The piece looks in detail at arguments for and against the ban. It can be accessed at http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/09/california-bans-plastic-bags
On March 14, 2014, the lobby group Fight the Plastic Bag Ban published a comment and analysis by Anthony van Leeuwen titled 'Plastic Bags in Landfill - Not a Problem'
The full text can be accessed at https://fighttheplasticbagban.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/plastic-bags-in-landfill-not-a-problem.pdf
On January 6, 2014, US Today published a report titled 'Eww, reusable grocery bags' germs can make you sick'. The report considers studies that have found that a range of disease-causing bacteria can colonise inside re-usable carry bags.
The full text can be found at https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/06/reusable-grocery-bag-germs/4341739/
On October 27, 2013, the Telegraph published a report titled 'Tax on shopping bags "will lead to more food poisoning"'
The report details findings that suggest re-usable carry bags are sources of bacterial contamination and can lead to food poisoning.
The full article can be accessed at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/10407724/Tax-on-shopping-bags-will-lead-to-more-food-poisoning.html
On August 22, 2013, The Ocean Health Index published a report by Dr. Richard Thompson, School of Marine Science and Engineering, Plymouth University, titled 'Plastic Entanglements Increase 40% For Marine Animals'
The report details the increasing impact of plastic debris on marine life.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.oceanhealthindex.org/news/Death_By_Plastic
On August 6, 2013, EcoWatch published a comment and analysis by Laura Beans titled 'Silent Killers: The Danger of Plastic Bags to Marine Life'
The article explains the harmful effect of plastic bags on marine creatures.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.ecowatch.com/silent-killers-the-danger-of-plastic-bags-to-marine-life-1881783599.html
In the March/April 2013 edition of Pennsylvania University's Gazette an article was published titled 'Getting to the Bottom of the Bag'
It details research which suggests an increase in deaths from food poisoning following a ban on single-use plastic bags.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0313/gaz04.html
On October 8, 2012, The Wall Street Journal published a feature titled 'Should Cities Ban Plastic Bags?'
The piece gives two detailed arguments by different authors, one supporting bans, one opposing.
The full text can be accessed at https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444165804578006832478712400
On August 2, 2012, the David Suzuki Foundation published an editorial titled 'Are plastic bags really necessary?'
The comment details some of the harm caused by plastic bags and questions the need for them.
The full comment can be accessed at http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/science-matters/2012/08/are-plastic-bags-really-necessary/
On April 8, 2009, The Guardian published a comment by George Monbiot titled 'Plastic bag obsession is carrier for environmental ignorance'
The comment argues that the harm caused by plastic bags has been exaggerated and that preoccupation with them distracts from more significant environmental issues.
The full text can be accessed at
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2009/apr/07/plastic-bag-waste-carbon-emissions
In 2009, The Marine Pollution Bulletin published a report by Nicholas Mrosovsky, Geraldine D. Ryan and Michael C. James of the University of Toronto, the University of Guelph, Ontario and the Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Their report is titled 'Leatherback turtles: The menace of plastic' and was published in 2009. It states, 'The first mention of plastic in the GI tract was for 1968. Of the 371 autopsies from that year and onwards, 37.2% revealed the presence of plastics.' The survey terminated in 2000.
The full text can be accessed at http://foodweb.uhh.hawaii.edu/MARE494_files/Mirosowsky%20et%20al.%202009.pdf
On March 10, 2008, The Australian published an analysis and comment by Matthew Franklin titled 'Scientists trash plastic bag ban'
The report considers scientific studies which suggest that many of the claims made about the negative environmental impact of plastic bags are false or misleading.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/scientists-trash-plastic-bag-ban/news-story/823406fbb39198ca835d05b6718a6fcd
In 2006 the British Government's Environmental Agency commissioned a report titled 'Life cycle assessment of supermarket carrier bags: a review of the bags available in 2006'
This report demonstrates that in terms of global warming potential the lightweight, single-use, plastic bag has the least impact of the nine types of carry bag considered (unless the other bags were used multiple times).
This report is the source of much of the data used by commentators supporting the continued use of the single-use plastic bag.
The full text can be accessed at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/291023/scho0711buan-e-e.pdf
The animal welfare group Animal Friends Croatia has numerous instances of marine and terrestrial animals harmed through ingesting plastic bags.
This information can be accessed at http://www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=934
The United States lobby group Stop the Bag Ban has an Internet site which supplies 26 arguments in favour of retaining single-use plastic bags.
The site also disputes 21 of what it refers to as 'Lies, Myths and Distortions' about the effects of single-use plastic bags. The site supplies citations for the claims it makes.
The full site can be accessed at http://stopthebagban.com/Home.php
The Canadian pro plastic bag lobby group All About Bags has presented arguments and information on its Internet site supporting the continued manufacture and use of lightweight plastic bags.
The site can be accessed at http://www.allaboutbags.ca/myths.html
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