Plastics ban targets consumers but should focus on big business

Targeting consumers in banning plastic cutlery is just another example of our government wanting to look like they’re green.

Plastic bans on shoppers are a vanity project.

The single-use plastic ban bugs me.

It’s just another vanity project of the Andrews State Government which wants to look like it’s doing something green.

Why not fix the recycling problem that sees 60 per cent of the plastics we recycle go to landfill in foreign countries rather than slapping a ban on useful items like ear cleaners?

And why include items like cutlery and plates, which are often used and reused by householders, but not annoying single-use plastics used by supermarkets to wrap food that doesn’t need to be wrapped?

Targeting shoppers with plastic bans fails to address the real problem.

I am all for reigning in our use of plastics, but the government should also be targeting the commercial use of useless products like polystyrene trays used to wrap bananas. Yep, that’s right. Bananas.

No doubt spurred on by state government’s greenies, Coles has decided to pull single-use plastic plates and cutlery from its shelves by July 1. CEO Stephen Cain posed with a bag of oranges in a non-recyclable net bag to promote the decision.

It’s complete hypocrisy.

Where’s their ban on unnecessary plastic in the fruit and veg aisles?

My single-use plastic consumption skyrockets every time I go to the supermarket to buy fresh food. These days it’s just about impossible to buy anything without some form of packaging. Capsicums come on polystyrene trays covered with glad wrap, lettuce leaves come in plastic boxes covered in more plastic, cucumbers are individually wrapped and meat is almost always wrapped on foam trays which cannot be recycled.

We regularly have five to seven people in our household, and go through mountains of cherry tomatoes, blueberries and strawberries which all come in silly little plastic boxes. Sure, they’re recyclable, but how do we know they are made out of recycled plastic to start with? And how do we know they are actually being recycled?

Supermarkets love to trump their enviro-cred, but their wastage and love of unnecessary packaging makes it a complete farce.

Where’s the government legislation outlawing the products they use? For instance, the black plastic trays commonly used to make food look prettier, especially meat, are impossible to recycle as they get caught in the sorting machines.

The net bags citrus fruits are also not recyclable because they get caught in the equipment.

There is no question action is needed given that at least eight million tonnes of plastic enters our oceans each year.

But targeting householders and ignoring big business just ends up alienating people.

Minister Lily D’Ambrosio says the government is singling out products that have viable alternatives, but why not also target wrapping which isn’t needed in the first place?

Wouldn’t that be a better place to start?