Plastic bag cost hike not enough, says environmental group

THE cost of a plastic bag will rise to 22 cents by the end of this month in an effort to reduce the increasing number of bags sold.

A spokesman for the Department of the Environment said retailers were being allowed a number of weeks to adjust their pricing structures in advance of the increase, which will become effective by the end of January.

He said there was “anecdotal evidence to suggest that much of the good work done in getting people to recycle their bags is being lost”.