The Palaszczuk Government bans single use plastic items by September 2021
The Palaszczuk Government have announced a single use plastic ban by September 2021.
On December 4, single use plastic items such as straws, stirrers, cutlery and plates and potentially polystyrene containers will be banned in Queensland from September 2021.
CEO of Biopak Gary Smith says their is absolutely no need for single use plastic items, biodegradable items being identical in functionality.
But while this will deal with part of the problem, experts say incorrect recycling and waste contamination is the biggest contribution to waste in Australia.
Senior Lecturer in hazardous materials management at Deakin University Trevor Thornton says Australian’s have been contaminating recycling streams a lot more since the COVID-19 pandemic.
He says one of the key ways to reduce waste is for Australian’s to be educated about how to recycle correctly and for people to purchase less items that can’t be recycled.