❓ Dr. Pettitt questions the compostability of single-use paperboard coffee cups following the single-use plastic ban, highlighting discrepancies in government advice regarding disposal. The government acknowledges the issue and outlines ongoing efforts to enable FOGO disposal in the future.
AnsweredQoN 139Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
SINGLE-USE PLASTICS
139. Hon Dr BRAD PETTITT to the parliamentary secretary representing the
Minister for Environment:
I
refer to the government media release titled ''Coffee cups in WA to go
compostable with single-use plastic ban'' and the ABC news article of 2 March in which Minister
Whitby is quoted as saying that ''more than a billion single-use plastic items, including more than 154 million coffee cups, will be saved from
landfill annually.''
(1) Are the
compostable single-use paperboard cups that are still allowed able to be
composted in Western Australia?
(2) Are the FOGO
facilities used by local governments able to compost these single-use
paperboard cups?
(3) If yes to
(2), why does the WA government's Recycle Right website state that
these should go into the red-lid general waste bin?
(4) If they are not compostable,
what happens to these disposable cups?
(5) Does the government intend to
create facilities that can compost single-use paperboard coffee cups?
139. Hon Dr BRAD PETTITT to the parliamentary secretary representing the
Minister for Environment:
I
refer to the government media release titled ''Coffee cups in WA to go
compostable with single-use plastic ban'' and the ABC news article of 2 March in which Minister
Whitby is quoted as saying that ''more than a billion single-use plastic items, including more than 154 million coffee cups, will be saved from
landfill annually.''
(1) Are the
compostable single-use paperboard cups that are still allowed able to be
composted in Western Australia?
(2) Are the FOGO
facilities used by local governments able to compost these single-use
paperboard cups?
(3) If yes to
(2), why does the WA government's Recycle Right website state that
these should go into the red-lid general waste bin?
(4) If they are not compostable,
what happens to these disposable cups?
(5) Does the government intend to
create facilities that can compost single-use paperboard coffee cups?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. On behalf of the Minister for Environment, I provide
the following answer.
(1)–(5) To
meet the requirements of the WA ban, coffee cups must be certified to
Australian Standards for composability. This
certification ensures that they can be managed by existing facilities licensed
to receive food organics and garden organics—FOGO—wastes.
As a transitional measure, the WA government is currently advising that all
single-use coffee cups should be disposed via the general waste bin. This is
due to the continued existence of noncompliant products in the market, and the
challenge for consumers and FOGO facilities to differentiate between
compostable and non-compostable cups. The state government is actively working
with the retail and organics processing industries to identify an appropriate
point to update the official advice to allow disposal of cups in the FOGO bins.
some notice of the question. On behalf of the Minister for Environment, I provide
the following answer.
(1)–(5) To
meet the requirements of the WA ban, coffee cups must be certified to
Australian Standards for composability. This
certification ensures that they can be managed by existing facilities licensed
to receive food organics and garden organics—FOGO—wastes.
As a transitional measure, the WA government is currently advising that all
single-use coffee cups should be disposed via the general waste bin. This is
due to the continued existence of noncompliant products in the market, and the
challenge for consumers and FOGO facilities to differentiate between
compostable and non-compostable cups. The state government is actively working
with the retail and organics processing industries to identify an appropriate
point to update the official advice to allow disposal of cups in the FOGO bins.
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