Page 1743 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 15 May 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
I want to note the Responsible Cafes movement. It has been reporting changes in community behaviour through the growing use and popularity of re-usable cups, which are a great alternative to plastic-lined coffee cups. The movement aims to get Australian cafes to offer their customers discounted rates for coffee served in re-usable cups. Some cafes are committed to using no disposable cups at all and are undertaking to better manage their waste and improve their sustainability by offering fewer single-use plastic products.
Almost 5,000 cafes have now joined the program nationally. Many cafes in the ACT participate as well, which has been noted during this debate. Canberrans can reduce their waste footprint by bringing their own re-usable cup, ordering in, bringing their own mug, refusing a lid if they do not need it and, importantly, never using polystyrene foam cups, as they are not recyclable in the ACT.
I understand that the Actsmart business recycling program supports businesses to set up effective recycling systems and to use their purchasing power to reduce single-use plastic packaging where possible. The program also has an education component. We are certainly supportive of a disposable coffee cup reduction pilot being delivered through the ACT government Actsmart business program, building on the success of the straws suck campaign, which was launched in 2018 around single-use plastic straws.
Encouraging businesses that do the right thing should be part of our government’s effort to reduce waste. I was pleased to see organisations like Green Caffeen put their hands up to get involved in a pilot scheme. I would be highly supportive of ACT NoWaste working closely with Actsmart on the program to help avoid and reduce waste. I also note that it is a key strategy in the national waste policy to deliver coordinated actions that help the community and businesses to avoid and minimise waste. I thank Ms Orr for her motion.
MR PETTERSSON (Yerrabi) (4.38): Our city, our country and the planet are addicted to single-use disposable plastics and this is having a disastrous impact on the environment. Half of all plastic materials are used once and then thrown away. Around the world one million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute. Up to five trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year. In Australia we consume an estimated one billion takeaway hot drink cups every year.
Only nine per cent of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled. About 12 per cent has been incinerated, while the rest—79 per cent—has accumulated in landfills, dumps or, unfortunately, the natural environment. Thousands of sea animals die every year from eating or getting entangled in plastic in the oceans. If current trends continue, our oceans will have more plastic than fish.
Even if Australians do the right thing and recycle their plastic waste, the issue is still not solved. Australia is currently struggling to deal with all of our recycling. Currently, Australia exports much of our recycling to other countries, mostly countries in our region. Last year, however, China drastically reduced the amount of recycling it imports. This year India, the fourth largest destination for Australia’s recycling,
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video