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WA plastic bans have started on coffee cups, lids and cold drink cups, here what you need to know!

by Amber B

Heres the simple version of what you need to know:

1. Oct 2022 WA banned clear plastic cold cups, this included bioplastic/PLA alternatives. Even though they are commercial/industrial compostable they unfortunately end up in a recycle bin (as they look like plastic) and then contaminate all the other items inside so the WA gov ruled them just as bad plastic. 

Alternatives - Everyone to move to paper based cold cup only - think Maccas cups, think old corner store milkshake bars

 

2. Starting Feb 2023 WA is banning plastic lined (recyclable) coffee cups as well as plastic and bioplastic/PLA lids. Suppliers and retailers have been given 1 year to use through their current stock piles of these cups with official enforcement starting Mar 2024. 

Alternatives - Everyone to move to Australian certified Home or Commercial/Industrial compostable paper cups for both hot and cold takeaway drinks. They will also have to use either paper or sugarcane lids. 

We recommend choosing Home Compostable products wherever you can as they don't need to be collected and manually processed like commercially compostable products do. 

Look for logos and wordings with AS5810 for home compostable and AS4736 for Commercial. see logo examples:

Here's some helpful links we found on the WA gov website:
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All options will be compostable moving forward and it is up to you to help educate your customers on where to dispose of these products. 
NO MORE RECYCLING COFFEE CUPS***
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Home compostable coffee cups and lids can either be composted at home or buried in your garden beds to break down naturally. 
All compostable options can also be taken to your local 7eleven service station and repurposed via the SimplyCups collection stations. 
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We hope as more bans like this roll over into other states we are provided with more garden waste bins, compost/food waste bins both in the public or at home but we need local councils to help make this change.
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Comment below with any questions! we are here to help. 

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