From a date to be announced in early 2018, single use plastic bags will be banned across Victoria, the Andrews Government has announced.

Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said the Government would consult with businesses and the community on how to implement the ban.

"In some states they have gone down the road of banning the use of lightweight plastic bags [but that] resulted in an increase of the use of heavier plastic bags"
"We don't want to repeat those mistakes."

Single use plastic bags have already been banned in the ACT, South Australia, Tasmania, while Western Australia and Queensland are implementing a ban next year.

In July, supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths announced they would phase out single-use bags over the next 12 months, and charge 15 cents for re-usable ones.

We at eWater Systems are very pleased with this overdue development, while heavier plastic bags and plenty of other wasteful plastic packaging are still widely used and afflicting our health and environment, this is a very positive move in the right direction.

You can read more about this story from the ABC here, from The Age here, and from the Herald Sun here.