Single-use plastics have become a forgotten issue for the Queensland government, according to a veteran campaigner key to the implementation of the Tools for Change programme.
Lightweight shopping bags were banned in 2018. Other prohibited items include plastic straws, plates and cutlery, and cotton and plastic stems, but no new bans have been introduced since September 2023.
A further four possible bans in September 2024 were part of a single-use plastic use roadmap released in 2022, which the Labor government put on hold in May that year pending a national conference to reconcile nations on the issue.
By the time the meeting took place, they had lost the 2024 election.
Toby Hutcheon from the Boomerang Coalition, which represents 55 environmental groups across Australia, said Queensland was lagging behind other states.
“Nothing seems to be happening to stop the next phase of the single-use plastic problem,” he said.
The Boomerang Coalition began in the early 2000s, advocating for the return of cans, which would eventually become Containers for Change.
One thing on the carved road map were plastic cups. In 2023, Stadiums Queensland conducted a successful trial of reusable cups in a few of their stadiums and were keen to implement it, but hit a snag: there is no facility in Queensland that can clean that many cups.
That could be an issue when the Olympics come to town due to the event’s sustainability policies. Reusable cups were used at the Paris Olympics, the organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Games have committed all food cups and trays to be reused, recycled or hung in local facilities.
Environment Minister Andrew Powell, who was recently made Olympics Minister as well, declined to answer direct questions about reusable cups or a ban on single-use plastics, but said the government was working on a new waste and recycling strategy that would be released this year.
Reusable cups are already being used in major stadiums in Western Australia, and Hutcheon said other states were moving forward with single-use plastic bans while Queensland stood still.
He said banning supermarket plastics such as produce bags, fruit wraps and polystyrene trays were all important next steps, but plastics that typically create litter and can break down into smaller plastics are important.
“The main thing 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 where 10,000 reusable coffee cups are being used in cafes on the high street, which can be placed in bins back on the street.
While the state government funded the project, Hutcheon said it had to be done on a large scale and by banning plastic coffee cups.
Announcing the new road map in March, Powell promised a plan, but little else.
“We continue to work to ensure Queensland is well positioned to attract the investment needed for Queensland’s future-proof waste system, reduce what goes to landfill and increase recycling,” he said.
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