With the legislation likely to be passed, Kangaroo Island is shaping up to set an example to the rest of the State and be the first region in SA to trial a day without the single-use bags.

While the ban does not come into place fully until May next year, KI shops and shoppers are preparing for Old Bags Day on November 14.

The fun day is designed to give people ideas about alternatives to plastic bags for shopping and home use. Make sure you check out the displays around the towns and most importantly, if you are out shopping that day remember to bring your re-usable bags, string bags, cloth bags and other alternatives.

Many Island businesses have already showed their enthusiasm for the day, including Kangashoo Shoes and Drake’s Foodland in Kingscote, which will take all the plastic bags from its checkouts on the day

“Old Bags” will be at the major shopping outlets, with giveaways and gentle reminders to people about using alternatives. In fact, there is already evidence that KI residents are one step ahead of our mainland counterparts. The new manager at Drakes, Nathan Conway, says he has noticed that fewer plastic bags are used here than in the store where he worked previously in Adelaide.

Steve Northcott at Farmland Meats in Kingscote also says most of his customers no longer ask for a plastic bag and he doesn’t automatically offer one.

Meanwhile, Zero Waste SA is excited about Old Bags Days and keen to support the island initiative.

A Zero Waste spokeswoman said there was often confusion about plastic bags.

“A range of bags claim to be degradable in different conditions. Some degradable bags are made partly or wholly of polyethylene. Only compostable biodegradable bags that meet Australian Standard AS4736-2006 are excluded from the proposed ban. These bags are usually made of some form of starch or other compostable material,” says communications manager Marcia Hewitt.