On Wednesday, Bilambil became the ninth Tweed village to go plastic-bag free. It now leads the state in the number of communities that have banned the bag.Tweed mayor Barry Longland said the growing movement away from plastic bag use was an excellent example of a small change people can make in their lives which has a significant, positive, environmental impact.
‘These plastic bag bans are really helping to raise awareness of what an important issue this is and I note the use of reusable bags in areas outside these villages seems to be increasing as well,’ said Cr Longland.
‘This is a grass-roots movement where people are taking the initiative to do what is right for the environment and their communities and we are happy to do what we can to support their efforts.’
Bilambil Post Office Store owner Chris Thompson said her customers welcomed the change and were well aware of the environmental concerns posed by plastic bags.
‘The idea for Bilambil was really kicked off by students at the local primary school and we were more than happy to go along with it.’
The UN Environment Programme estimates that plastic debris causes the deaths of more than one million seabirds and more than 100,000 marine mammals every year.
