Casey residents and businesses are urged to prepare for the single-use plastic ban that comes into effect on 1 February 2023.
The statewide ban is part of the Victorian Government’s push to remove problematic single-use plastics from sale or supply in Victoria and will apply to items including single-use plastic drinking straws, cutlery, plates, drink stirrers and cotton bud sticks made from conventional, degradable, and compostable plastics.
The ban also applies to food service items and drink containers made from expanded polystyrene.
Single-use plastics make up a third of the litter in the environment and are difficult and costly to clean up.
These items pollute the environment and can harm wildlife and while they are often used for only a few minutes, they remain in the environment for a long time.
You may notice Casey businesses are already phasing out some plastics, including straws and cutlery.
Residents are encouraged to remember to BYO when you are on the go, and use reusable cutlery, straws and containers to help reduce waste.
Single-use plastic straws will remain available for people who need them due to a disability or for medical reasons.
Casey residents may have also noticed yellow lids starting to appear on the kerbside recycling bins.
This is in line with the Victorian Government’s requirement to standardise bin lid colour across the state. The new lids will roll out progressively as bins need replacing. Old and damaged bins are all recycled.
The same items still go into your recycling bin and you can check the list on council’s website or in its Recycling and Waste Guide, which has a handy A-Z reference to guide you on how best to dispose of a range of items.
Soft plastics should not go into your recycling bin. With the pause of REDcycle’s soft plastics recycling scheme, these plastics unfortunately need to go into your general waste bin. Soft plastics get caught in the equipment used to sort recycling, leading to higher recycling costs for council and ratepayers.
