Environmental campaigners warn state is falling behind on waste reduction targets
Single-use plastics have become a forgotten issue for the Queensland government, according to an experienced campaigner who played a key role in implementing the Containers for Change programme.
Lightweight shopping bags were banned in 2018. Among other banned substances plastic straws, plates and cutlery, And cotton swabs with plastic handles, however, no new ban has been introduced since September 2023.
A further four possible bans in September 2024 were part of the single-use plastic roadmap published in 2022; The Labor government paused it in May of that year to await a national meeting to align the states on the issue.
They had lost the 2024 elections when that meeting took place.
Toby Hutcheon of the Boomerang Alliance, which represents 55 environmental groups across Australia, said Queensland was lagging behind other states.
“Nothing seems to be happening to phase out the next tranche of problematic single-use plastics,” he said.
The Boomerang Alliance began advocating for a return system for cans in the early 2000s, which would eventually become Exchange Containers.
One of the items on the broken road map was plastic cups. In 2023, Stadium Queensland ran a successful trial of reusable cups at several of their stadiums and were keen to implement it, but they hit a snag: there is no facility in Queensland that can clean that many cups.
This could become an issue when the Olympics come to town due to the event’s sustainability policies. Reusable cups were used at the Paris Olympics; Organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Games have committed to making all cups and food trays reusable, recyclable or compostable at local facilities.
Environment Minister Andrew Powell, who recently became Olympic minister, refused to answer direct questions about reusable cups or single-use plastic bans but said the government was working on a new waste and recycling strategy to be published this year.
Reusable cups are already being used in major stadiums in Western Australia and Hutcheon said Queensland had remained inactive while other states continued to ban single-use plastics.
He said bans on supermarket plastics such as fruit bags, fruit stickers and polystyrene trays were important next steps, but plastics that more commonly form litter and can turn into microplastics were also needed.
“One of the big ones is coffee cups and plastic cups, especially those used away from home,” he said.
The Boomerang Alliance is currently running a trial in Port Douglas using 10,000 reusable coffee cups used in high street cafes, which can be placed in high street return bins.
While the provincial government is funding this project, Hutcheon said it should be done on a larger scale and plastic-lined coffee cups should be banned.
Announcing his new road map in March, Powell promised a plan but did little else.
“We are continuing the work of ensuring Queensland is best placed to attract the investment needed to future-proof Queensland’s waste system, reduce what goes to landfill and increase recycling,” he said.
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