General News
13 February, 2023
Plastic ban not so bad for businesses
The next phase of the Victorian Government’s ban on single-use plastics has come into force, with local businesses adjusting to trade without items like plastic straws. As of February 1, the government’s single-use plastics ban was expanded to...
The next phase of the Victorian Government’s ban on single-use plastics has come into force, with local businesses adjusting to trade without items like plastic straws.
As of February 1, the government’s single-use plastics ban was expanded to include plastic straws, cutlery, plates, drink stirrers, cotton bud sticks and expanded polystyrene food and drink containers, with the items now banned from sale and supply in the state.
According to the government, single-use plastics make up around a third of the state’s litter, with the ban building on the government’s 2019 ban on single-use plastic bags.
Parkview Bakery is one local business that’s made the switch from single-use plastics to reusable and recyclables, a transition that owner Garry Higgins said was easy.
“The transition for us was fairly straightforward, we had already moved to cardboard takeaway containers and we’ve been using cardboard straws for a while now,” he said.
“We’ve been aware these changes were coming for a while and as a business we try to be environmentally friendly and reduce waste — we donate any excess food to the Salvos and Foodbank for example.
“For us this transition was a continuation of what we’d already been working to do.”
Mr Higgins said the business didn’t encounter many issues moving away from single-use plastics, although some items were harder to replace than others.
“A lot of items we had needed replacing, even things like bread tags which are now biodegradable and the wrapping around bread is reusable,” he said.
“Some of the changes have taken a bit of adjusting to or been difficult to source but at the end of the day, I don’t think anyone can say it’s not a good thing.”
Another local business, KT’s Cafe & Coffee had been using more environmentally friendly items for some time and owner Rick Townsend said the single-use plastic ban hadn’t meant a big change for the business.
“It hasn’t meant a big change for us at all, we already had that pretty much sorted before the changes came in,” he said.
“We do events as well like Energy Breakthrough and there’s a big focus on sustainability with that sort of thing, so we are used to it and it’s spilled over into our cafe.
“It’s good businesses are doing this but it’s also hard when nearly everything in the supermarket is covered in plastic.
“You can have an eco friendly bag but when almost everything you put in it is covered in plastic, you do start to wonder if you’re making a difference.”
The ban on single-use plastics forms part of the state’s transition to a standardised four-stream bin system designed to divert 80 percent of waste from landfill by 2030.
Minister for Environment Ingrid Stitt said the ban was an important step forward in protecting the environment.
“We are taking action to protect Victoria’s environment and reduce pollution by banning single-use plastic items and supporting businesses to switch to reusables instead,” she said.
“Plastic pollution has significant impacts on our health, wildlife, and the environment. This single-use plastics ban is a crucial step to protect Victoria’s rivers, waterways and oceans from plastic pollution.”