Hobart has become the first city in Australia to ban single-use plastic takeaway food packaging as part of a wider move to become single-use plastic free.
The Single Use Plastics By-law will be enforced from today, in a move set to drive down the amount of plastic waste going to landfill.
The new by-law bans the provision of single-use plastic takeaway food packaging, as well as other items like cutlery, cups, straws and condiment packaging.
Hobart is the first place in the nation to ban takeaway food packaging, and last year became the first city in Australia to adopt a ban on single-use plastics.
Other states are territories are announcing and implementing bans on single-use plastics, but Hobart’s approach remains the first and most comprehensive.
“Our city is leading the way nationally in taking decisive action to reduce plastic waste in response to strong community concerns,” Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said.
“It is really important to get rid of single-use plastics because they are wasteful and create huge problems for our environment.
“We expect this by-law will prevent 600 tonnes of single-use plastics going to landfill every year, equivalent to around 150 trucks full of waste.
“This is a huge step towards achieving our ambitious goal of zero waste to landfill by 2030.”
Cr Reynolds said the Council would also continue to lobby the Tasmanian Government to implement a statewide initiative to reduce single-use plastics.
Data from the National Litter Index suggests that up to half of all litter is related to takeaway food packaging and that as much as 80 per cent of that is likely to end up in the region’s waterways.
The Single-Use Plastics By-Law will help to remove dangerous plastics from the litter stream, through avoidance or through replacing them with compostable options.
The introduction of the by-law followed community consultation, during which 96 per cent of survey respondents said it was not appropriate to continue using single-use plastics. The by-law was gazetted in early 2020 giving local businesses more than a year to adapt to the new requirements before they take effect this week.
There will not be an implementation ‘blitz’ as such clarified Councillor Reynolds.
“We’re serious about implementing it, our environmental health officers do go around to businesses and check on a whole range of things,” she said. “So this will just be part of the checklist of things that they look at, in a year in a yearly inspection, that’s not going to be something we go out and do just on its own.”
Councillor Bill Harvey said the pandemic had delayed the implementation of the measure.
“We needed to delay things a bit in order to accommodate the necessities of COVID with regard to take away packaging, and things like that,” he said. “But now we’ve decided it’s time to actually enforce the bylaw. And we have a high level of compliance already. So it’s an easy situation that we’re in now to make sure that other businesses that aren’t necessarily compliant yet, will do so in the next little while.”
He agreed that there would be efficiencies in having a ban statewide, but the state government had yet to make any real commitment.
“Unfortunately, we haven’t got a statewide ban in Tasmania yet, but I anticipate in the near future,” he said. “If Tasmanian doesn’t want to be lost, then we’ll also have a statewide ban in Tasmania and rather than do it council by Council, it’s much better to do it state by state.”
Takeaway packaging, urged Harvey, can now be composted by consumers themselves. “(Or), any compostable packaging can go into your FOGO bin at home. When it comes to having collection points in the street, that’s a fair way away because of the contamination issue.”
The by-law only applies to businesses that provide or sell food in packaging that can be taken from the premises for immediate consumption. It encourages retailers to replace single use plastic containers which are smaller than one litre (1L) in volume or an area equivalent to A4 (210 mm by 297 mm) in size. Packaging larger than that is excluded.
The by-law does not apply where a retailer provides or sells food packaging supplied by the customer, such as coffee cups or Tupperware containers, or where the food packaging was not provided by the retailer, such as a bottle of soft drink.
Businesses needing further information or help to comply with the new by-law can find out more on the City of Hobart’s website at www.hobartcity.com.au/singleuseplastics.
The council announcement coincided with the start of Plastic-Free July a movement that encourages people across the globe to reduce their single-use plastic waste for a day, a week or the entire month of July—whether it be at home, school, work, or local businesses, including cafés and restaurants.
