South Australia to trial a ban on plastic in hospitality

South Australia is to undertake a radical move in an effort to tackle Australia’s waste crisis.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, plastic straws, single-use coffee cups and plastic bags of all types will no longer be supplied in four precincts within the state, marking the first time an Australian state has tried a ban which goes beyond single-use plastic bags.

The Adelaide Central Market, the Parade at Norwood, Jetty Road Brighton Traders and 21 surf life saving clubs in the state have been listed as initial participants.

The program will focus on hospitality, cafe and food-service businesses in these areas, requiring them to, at least, ditch all take-away cutlery and polystyrene food packaging, as well as plastic straws, single-use coffee cups and all plastic bags.

“The message from the community is clear, they expect government to lead on the issue of plastics, and it definitely feels like the time is right to reduce, remove and replace single-use plastics where ever we can,” said South Australian Environment Minister David Speirs.

“These first four partners are just the first step, and we expect more plastic-free precincts will follow soon given the high quality of the other applications from across the state.

“Our government is seeking a wide range of input on what any future phase-out or replacement for single-use plastic might look like and the stakeholder taskforce will play an important role in our decision making.”

The Boomerang Alliance and the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation have been engaged to develop, implement and manage the scheme.

Sheridan Randall - 21-08-19