Woolworths to phase out plastic bags in an Australian state within weeks

Woolworths will phase out its 15 cent plastic bags in Western Australia over the next month.

Instead, shoppers will have the option of purchasing paper bags for 20 cents.

The move comes ahead of WA’s plastic bag ban, which takes effect in July.

But co-CEO of Planet Ark, Rebecca Gilling, told Dee Dee replacing plastic bags with paper ones isn’t a perfect solution.

“If you’re simply substituting a single use plastic bag for a single use paper bag then the environmental gain is questionable,” she said.

“If you’re putting plastic into landfill … it takes hundreds if not a thousand years to break down.

“However paper in landfill breaks down releasing methane gas which is more than 20 times greater environmental impact than carbon dioxide, so just substituting one for another is not a simple equation.”

Ms Gilling says the most important thing consumers can do is follow the waste hierarchy — avoid, reduce, reuse and then recycle.

She says plastic has been “demonised” but it does play an important role in helping make food last longer, therefore reducing food waste.

Press PLAY below to hear why swapping from plastic to paper bags is “questionable”