How many people today grab a takeaway coffee cup from the local cafe to drink on the go? We don’t know, but the number must be enormous.. Most every one of the above have a plastic top that will last 100s of years. Some cafes still use plastic cups that last a similar time. Is 10 minutes of coffee worth 100s of years of trash?
These items can be seen littering our gutters and on our streets all over the place. If they were all cardboard, they would still be littered, but they would, at least, be gone in a short time.
They do not need to be made of plastic.
On the way home from the gym last week, a distance of about 1 km (1/2 mile), I counted the items of plastic litter on the curb as I walked. In that short distance I counted 63 pieces of plastic litter. Plastic drink bottles, bottle tops, candy wrappers, plastic film, polystyrene fragments etc. That seemed to be a lot to me. I guess it is a generational thing. Our parents would have been horrified to see that amount, whereas it seems to go unnoticed by our youth of today. In another 20 years how many pieces will there be on this stretch, -- 200? What will today’s youth think of that new amount then when they are older? Will their children be so readily accepting of a higher amount of litter? Plastic Limiting Regulations Archives - Plastic Waste Solutions
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Consultations open for WA plastics plan – Australia
Posted on September 29, 2022 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting RegulationsSource The Western Australian Government is seeking feedback on the next phase of the state’s single-use plastic bans, with Stage 2 to be introduced from February 2023. Targeted items include non-compostable takeaway coffee cups, expanded polystyrene cups and packaging, produce...
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Wegmans Is Banning Single-Use Plastic Bags in Pa.: Here’s What to Know – USA
Posted on September 14, 2022 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting Regulationssource “Completing our transition out of single-use plastic bags across the company is a big celebration as we continue to expand our sustainability efforts and focus on doing what’s right for the environment,” However, the goal isn't to raise money, but...
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Europe/New Zealand leading the way in CDS refund
Posted on September 13, 2022 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting Regulations, Plastic RecyclingSource The latest European state to announce adoption of a container deposit/refund scheme is Austria. Commencing in 2024, Austria will launch its scheme with a €0.25 Euro deposit value, equivalent of around A$0.40cents. That’s four times higher than Australia’s current...
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Coffee cups and lids must be banned – Boomerang Alliance – Australia
Posted on September 8, 2022 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting RegulationsSource Plastic, single use coffee cups and lids are a massive litter and waste problem in Australia, and have been for the past 30 years so must be banned, according to a spokesperson from the Boomerang Alliance of 55 environment...
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Regulations need overhaul to get confidence back into market – Australia
Posted on September 7, 2022 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting Regulationssource The conversation in terms of state and federal targets being set, and policies articulating the benefits of having a ‘circular economy’, genuinely admirable. However, not a word in any of these conversations is any form of acknowledgement about how...
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PLASTIC WAR WIDENS Gov’t to close lunch box, bag loopholes exploited by importers – Jamaica
Posted on September 5, 2022 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting RegulationsSource The Government is moving to expand its ban on single-use plastic bags and polystyrene foam amid large corporations’ engagement in unethical but legal practices to sidestep restrictions while maintaining profits. “Persons will look at the regulations, unfortunately, and look at...
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Queensland CDS under scrutiny
Posted on August 23, 2022 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting Regulationssource ‘’The scheme run by COEX has dismally failed to reach its target of 85 per cent recovery by 30 June 2022. It now stands at 62 per cent. Every container refund not recovered is an impost on consumers, already...
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Plastics producers ask court to quash planned federal ban on single-use straws, cups – Canada
Posted on August 12, 2022 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting RegulationsSource CEPA defines a substance as "toxic" if it can have "immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity." In its legal filing in the latest case, the coalition argues the government doesn't have real evidence plastics...
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Reusable plastic bags being phased out by Woolies – Australia
Posted on August 11, 2022 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting RegulationsSource South Australia will be one of the first states to voluntarily phase out 15-cent reusable plastic shopping bags across Woolworths stores and online orders, following the retailer’s commitment to phase out the bags nationwide – a first for a major national...
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CDS needs an increase in deposit refund – now – Australia
Posted on August 11, 2022 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting Regulations, Plastic Waste NewsSource It works so well because all who participate at every level – from households to charities, collection depots and beverage makers – work together and have skin in the game – in other words, an incentive to play. There is...
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