By Charlene Macaulay
Single use plastic products such as straws and water bottles could be banned at council facilities and events if one Wyndham councillor gets her way.
Environment and sustainability portfolio holder Heather Marcus last week successfully moved a motion calling for a council report to explore eliminating single use plastic products at council-run facilities and events.
If passed, any single use plastics such as straws, water bottles and balloons would be banned.
Cr Marcus said disposable plastics were commonly found littered along streets, creeks and waterways, and Australians discarded 9.7 million single use plastic items each year.
She believed Wyndham should follow the lead of other councils such as Darebin in banning single use plastic products.
“It’s more important than ever to put the right things into our recycling bins but also to rethink the waste that we are generating as a whole,” she said.
Councillor Tony Hooper, who voted against the motion, raised concerns about how these changes would affect residents with a disability.
Cr Hooper said plastic straws were important for many people with cerebral palsy, or for those whom a change to a different type of straw would cause considerable stress and anxiety.
The report will be tabled at an upcoming council meeting.
