Leading Australian environmental groups have urged federal and state governments to target coffee cup pollution, when Australia’s environment ministers meet on Friday 21 October.

Environment, resource recovery and retail industry groups today welcomed NSW government support to increase the types of drinks and containers that will be covered by the successful 10cent refund schemes. They called on all state environment ministers who are meeting next Friday, to move quickly as it makes great recycling, business and community sense to do so.

Businesses will be able to get free advice from environment professionals as the city continues its push to phase out single-use plastics.

In the next two years plastic coffee cups and lids will be subjected to new rules across the European Union and the UK. Some countries such as Germany will be introducing laws that all cafes offer or sell reusable cups and lids. Other countries are planning a levy on all disposable cups and lids.

Darwin’s cafes, restaurants and mobile food vendors are making a significant change to their takeaway menus to help reduce the problem of plastic waste.

Environmentalists today welcomed the forthcoming review of the state’s Container Refund Scheme, calling for root and branch assessment of the governance, consumer convenience and recycling outcomes.

In a seriously short sighted move, the NSW Environment Protection Authority has breached the Parliament’s ban on plastic bowls and plates, by exempting such disposable products that are plastic lined.

July 1, 2022, marks the first day the ban on certain polluting single use plastics in Western Australia is implemented. It means that heavyweight plastics bags, polystyrene food ware, plastic cutlery, straws, cups, plates, and bowls are no longer able to be supplied in the State.

Today’s announcement by the ACT government that all oxodegradable plastics which have been polluting the environment for many years are now banned, was welcomed today by the Boomerang Alliance.

The decision by the Queensland Government to ban all disposable plastic shopping bags steps up the attack on polluting single use plastic items, with the plan to introduce a Reusable Shopping Bag Standard to ensure all shopping bags available from retailers will be genuinely reusable in the future. Disposable coffee cups are now also centre of the agenda.