Steps for councils: make the change today!

  1. Is there a town or suburb in your council area that could go Plastic Bag Free?
  2. This usually applies to areas without a major supermarket. This involves towns replacing free plastic shopping bags with biodegradable and reusable bags. Click here to see how your community can achieve this.
  3. Organize sponsorship to give away free reusable bags
  4. Many councils have used their domestic waste levy to provide every household and school child in their town with a free reusable bag. Other councils have obtained sponsorship for the bags from local businesses, giving away hundreds of thousands of reusable bags.
  5. Reusable bags are available from Greener Footprints. Click here for details of reusable bag options, prices, and ordering details.
  6. Meet with your local Chambers of Commerce
  7. Discuss a plan with your local Chambers of Commerce to reduce plastic bag usage in your area. Our partner, Planet Ark, has created a DVD with great footage about why your town should be plastic-bag free. It also has a segment about Coles Bay, the first town in Australia to become plastic-bag free.
  8. Make sure you have read through the ‘Plastic Bag Facts’ and the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ pages on this website to help you answer questions you may be asked.
  9. Compile a list of retailers in your council area that use plastic check-out bags.
  10. It may be useful for you to identify those stores in your area that are already plastic check-out bag free. You can use the names of these retailers when you are persuading other retailers to stop using plastic shopping bags.
  11. Write to all retailers in your area to invite them to join the council’s plastic bag reduction initiatives.
  12. Show your local retailers how to reduce their plastic shopping bag usage.
  13. Greener Footprints can show you the best way for retailers in your local area to reduce their plastic shopping bag usage. Click here to see how.
  14. Design a plastic bag reduction poster to go up in your local retail outlets.
  15. Greener Footprints has created a free poster that you can download and print out, or you can create your own specific poster for your town.
  16. Run an ongoing campaign with your local newspaper or radio station to motivate your community to reduce their plastic bag usage.