Single-use plastics are now banned from sale or supply across the state.
Single-use plastic drinking straws, cutlery, plates, drink stirrers, cotton bud sticks and expanded polystyrene food and drink containers are banned from sale and supply in Victoria, including in Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay.
People who need single-use plastic drinking straws due to disability or medical needs can still purchase and use these items.
Monash University human geography Associate Professor Ruth Lane said individual homeowners’ actions were not enough to drive down plastic waste entering landfill.
“This ban has been a long time coming,” she said.
“Our research with householders trying to reduce their waste found that plastic packaging is one of their biggest challenges. It has to be assisted by regulating the practice of retailers to prompt different approaches.”
Western Melbourne business owner Khoa Ngo said he began making changes to his bubble tea businesses about a month ago.
“We have to use paper cups, and for our other cups they have to be recyclable, and for the straw we use a paper straw,“ he said.
Mr Ngo said the transition was “hard in the beginning” because he had to spend money buying the new supplies.
“I have a lot of [plastic] stock left and I don’t know what to do with it, at least $1000 worth,” he said.
Customers have also voiced their dislike of the paper straws, as Mr Ngo said paper material only stays firm for about 30 minutes before becoming too damp to use.
“I know it’s for environmental reasons,” he said.
“I have kids, so I know we have to protect the Earth for the future.”
Single-use plastics currently make up a third of Victoria’s litter, with the state government committing to diverting 80 per cent of waste from landfill by 2030.
Environment Minister Ingrid Stitt said the ban represented a “crucial step” towards protecting the state’s waterways, rivers and oceans from plastic pollution.
