FORGET about gold doubloons, Rachel Pemberton found a vintage shopping bag while out for a paddle at South Beach.
The Greens-aligned councillor was gobsmacked when she dived down and scooped a pristine “Coles New World” plastic bag from the seabed. “I went home and Googled it and it turns out they stopped using that brand in 1991,” she says.
“It’s at least 25 years old and in such good condition, I can’t believe it.”
Whether the bag survived a quarter-century on the seabed, or only recently ended up there after years stuffed in a drawer, is anyone’s guess.
Cr Pemberton, who swims at South Beach a few days a week, says she salvages bags as they are the most harmful type of litter for aquatic and bird life.
• Fremantle councillor Rachel Pemberton with her recovered “treasure” from South Beach. Photo by Matthew Dwyer
“I’ve seen less bags this year while swimming than I did last year, which is great, but I still find bags floating once or twice a week. Beer bottles and cans are also common.
“I support the plastic bag ban, there is no need for them as there are better alternatives readily available now.”
In October, Fremantle council’s bid to ban single-use plastic shopping bags was thwarted by the WA parliament, with the conservative-dominated upper house passing a disallowance motion for a second time.
Cr Pemberton says the municipal waste advisory council is keen to advocate the bag ban and she knows of at least six councils, including Joondalup, Margaret River and Nedlands, also in favour.
The first government to ban plastic bags was Bangladesh in 2002, followed by Rwanda, China, Taiwan and Macedonia.
The states of South Australia, Tasmania, and the ACT and Northern Territory, along with some Australian cities have independently banned plastic bags from being given out for free.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK
Which one is the old bag?
Who paddles with a mask and snorkel on?
The colours on the bag look amazingly
good for such an old bag?
Hair doesn’t look at all like some who has been swimming?
Paddling with a ring on?
Makeup looking good for a paddling diver?
All looks like a bit of cheap polictical propaganda?
Is Donald Trump in town?
umm.., I seriously doubt there was a reporter just hanging out at the beach just waiting for something to happen to report on and take a photo of. This would have been arranged at a later date to when the “paddling” occurred… and having been in both a newspaper article and on a “current news” tv piece, what “looks good” to the journo & camera crew vs what is logic or real is a whole different kettle of fish! The article also states “Whether the bag survived a quarter-century on the seabed, or only recently ended up there after years stuffed in a drawer, is anyone’s guess.”
What a load of Rubbish!
More like Councillor Pemberton found this in the bottom of her sock draw to bring out for political reasons. No way would this bag would be floating around all this time and the print logo still look like it came from the shop and not fade.
Could it be possible it was liberated from the Hollis Park contaminated old tip site when the council’s own anointed Hamilton Hill resident Aiden Lang with his group ‘Friends of Hollis Park’ were trying to plant 5,000 trees and digging up the dirt? One would think you would be more concerned with exposing the community to asbestos, heavy metals, noxious gasses and other contaminants putting their health at risk.