Hobart Will Become the First Australian City to Ban Single-Use Plastics

If you make a trip down to Hobart next year, don't expect to find plastic straws, cups or takeaway containers at its many cafes and markets. The City of Hobart last night voted to pass a by-law banning the sale of all single-use plastics.

The by-law targets straws, cutlery, cups and containers that are less than a litre in size, and sold directly to customers. Buying a plastic bottle of Coca Cola, for example, will still be OK. Businesses will be given six months-to-one-year to phase out single-use plastics, and, after that, will be fined.

Tasmania implemented a statewide single-use plastic bag ban in 2013 and, according to the Council's research, a third of local businesses already use some form of compostable packaging. The city is also aiming to achieve zero waste to landfill by 2030.

While the law has been passed by the Council, its exact start date depends on the outcome of a public consultation period to be led by the state government. Then, likely in late 2019 or early 2020, Hobart will become the first Australian state to ban single-use plastics. South Australia is considering a statewide ban, but this has not yet passed through state government.

Overseas, Europe has pledged to stop using such items by 2021, building upon similar decisions in the UK and France, while Australia is working towards banning all non-recyclable packaging by 2025. Locally, Victoria is currently phasing out plastic bags, and Queensland enacted a plastic bag ban in 2018. NSW is the only state yet to commit to a statewide plastic bag ban. But, after the City of Hobart's decision, maybe the City of Sydney will consider taking matters into its own hands.

The City of Hobart's single-use plastic ban will