Norwood cafe first to become completely plastic-free, State Government says
Brick+Mortar in Norwood is the leading the green agenda, becoming the first cafe to go completely plastic-free.
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A Norwood cafe has become the first in the state to go 100 per cent plastic-free, the State Government says.
Brick+Mortar, on George St, is leading the green push as part of the government’s “plastic-free precincts” pilot program, which takes in The Parade, Jetty Rd at Brighton and Adelaide Central Markets, as well as Surf Life Saving SA.
Owner Elizabeth Donaldson was pleased to be pushing the green agenda, saying it was her social responsibility to minimise her environmental impact.
Brick+Mortar had always pushed to be sustainable, but it was not until last month that Environment Minister David Spiers officially recognised the cafe and retail outlet as being completely plastic-free.
“We removed one line of bottled water … and replaced our recyclable takeaway coffee cup lids with plant-based compostable lids,” Ms Donaldson said.
“All our packaging from our cafe and retail store is plastic free and compostable, we only stock glass bottles.
“We compost all our organic waste and we don’t use any single-use plastics in our kitchen either.”
Cups used in the cafe are made from recycled coffee husks, and are also sold in store as a reusable takeaway option. Cafes traditionally relied on plastics in takeaway packaging, but there were now environmentally friendly, affordable options produced in Australia, Ms Donaldson said.
“Naturally this comes at a financial cost to do things differently, but I’m prepared to make that investment and our customers and suppliers appreciate that we’re leading by example,” she said.
Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Mayor Robert Bria hoped other local businesses would follow Brick+Mortar’s lead.
“This is a fantastic achievement for a local small business and a step towards environmental sustainability for our City as a whole,” Mr Bria said.
“I’m extremely proud that businesses of The Parade are leading the move to become a ‘plastic-free’ precinct.
“It’s a challenging proposal, but Brick+Mortar Creative has shown it can be done.”
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Mr Spiers said businesses at the three plastic-free pilot sites, plus Surf Life Saving SA, were working hard to make changes.
“I congratulate Brick+Mortar Creative on being the first business in South Australia to officially go plastic-free and look forward to others joining them soon,” Mr Spiers said.