Calls for Victoria to add disposable coffee cups and lids to plastic ban

Victorians love their coffee but the state is “late to the party” in the war on waste, prompting calls to ban disposable cups and lids.

Environmental groups are calling for Victoria to ban disposable coffee cups. Picture: iStock

Environmental groups are pushing for disposable coffee cups and lids to be banned in Victoria after Queensland announced it was taking the waste busting measure.

But the government says it has no plans to add disposable cups and lids to is single-use plastic ban which comes into effect in February next year.

Queensland unveiled its five-year plan on Friday, with mass balloon releases, plastic microbeads, polystyrene packing peanuts and plastic-stemmed cotton buds to be banned from September next year.

Bread tags, sauce sachets, balloon sticks, plastic dome lids, bait bags and expanded polystyrene trays are also facing the axe.

The new road map comes after 91 per cent of respondents to a government survey backed further bans to single-use plastics, which already apply to straws, cutlery, stirrers, plates and unenclosed bowls.

Arabella 7, Hugo, 7, and Charley, 6, back the ban on single-use straws. Picture: Penny Stephens

But Victoria’s ban is restricted to cutlery, plates, stirrers, cotton bud sticks and polystyrene food and drink containers.

Director from zero-waste organisation Boomerang Alliance, Jeff Angel, said Victoria is “late to the party”.

“Over 1 billion coffee cups end up in landfill and in our environment,” Mr Angel said.

“Victoria is lagging behind. So it would be fantastic if we could see quick action on coffee cups.”

Mr Angel said Queensland is pushing for a “national and harmonised approach” with other states and territories across the country.

“It would be great to see jurisdictions all on the same page,” he said.

Environmental groups are pushing Victoria to ban disposable coffee cups and lids.

Details from a newly released assessment of Victoria’s planned ban show a massive economic return of $6 for every $1 spent.

It is estimated to bring benefits of $15m over 10 years, which would more than offset the costs of $2m.

Much of the economic benefit will come from avoiding huge clean-up and landfill costs.

Each year, more than one million single-use items are thrown out, making up around one third of Victoria’s total litter.

More than one million single-use items are thrown out every year in Victoria.

Mr Angel said the “very significant benefit” to business and the environment should give the Victorian government confidence to “move faster and wider”.

“The movement away from disposables coffee cups also means there has to be a trend towards reusables,” he said.

“The more reusables there are the less disposables coffee cups business have to buy.

“Businesses save money and consumers save money because a disposable coffee cup will no longer be part of the price of coffee.”

The organisation’s Queensland manager Toby Hutcheon said it was a “mystery” why Victoria was lagging behind other states and territories.

“Victoria has always been one of the leading jurisdictions (with environmental policies),” Mr Hutcheon said.

“But for some reason on (banning single-use plastic items), Victoria behind everyone else.

“Victoria should catch up. Certainly banning disposable coffee cups and lids would be a good start.”