Page57 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 2 December 2020
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The bill also bans expanded polystyrene food and beverage containers, which have already been phased out by many businesses since the 1980s. Analysis in relation to a regulatory ban on expanded polystyrene containers shows a low impact, given the readily available re-usable and recyclable low-cost alternatives. It is important to note that the scope does not extend to packaging such as meat trays and furniture packaging at this stage. This will be addressed in the coming years through the national Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation’s 2025 national packaging targets. Single-use plastic shopping bags under 35 microns thick are already banned in the ACT, and this will continue under this new legislation.
The second tranche of products that has been outlined in the plastics policy will be banned 12 months after commencement of the first tranche. This will occur on 1 July 2022. This will ban single-use plastic “barrier bags”, such as those used for fruit and vegetables in supermarkets, as well as single-use plastic straws, and all products made from oxo-degradable plastic. A phase-out of these products has strong community support. However, the government will undertake detailed consultation with disability and health community advocates and representatives to develop regulations which will ensure that people who need straws can retain access to them.
As a result, these second tranche products are not yet expressly prohibited in the bill and will instead be prohibited under a regulation made under the act, once the details are settled, following consultation with the Plastic Reduction Taskforce.
The bill gives power to the minister to prohibit single-use plastic products by regulation. Our government recognises that, as global, national and local policy progresses in this area, the ban may need to go beyond the currently and expressly identified single-use plastic items to a broader list of prohibited plastic products. The regulation-making power in the bill provides the mechanism to ban not only future tranches of products identified in the plastics policy but also other plastic products that need to be addressed in the ACT in the future.
When using the power to phase out additional single-use plastic items, the bill ensures that the government must give public notice of the proposed regulation and must invite public submissions. It also provides that, when making a regulation, consideration of public submissions and the availability and suitability of any alternatives must be taken into account. The ACT government have already identified in our plastics policy that plastic-lined single-use coffee cups and lids, single-use plastic dinnerware, boutique or heavyweight plastic bags, and cotton ear buds with plastic sticks are being considered for future tranches of products to be phased out.
The bill also provides the responsible minister with powers to make exemptions. In making an exemption, consideration will need to be given to whether compliance with the bill is practical or in the public interest. A person’s human rights will need to be considered, as well as whether compliance will have significant adverse effects on public health, property or the environment. This power will ensure that when we phase out straws, people with a disability or medical need will be able to continue to access these items.
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