Coca-Cola joins the fight in reducing single-use plastic in Australia
Source: Shutterstock
Coca-Cola Amatil intends to use fully recyclable packaging by 2025.
2018 was the year of the plastic bag ban in Australia. In June, we saw supermarket giant Woolworths introduce the ban on plastic bags to stores nationwide. Shortly after, Coles promised to reduce the use of plastic by introducing the "Better Bag", which is made from 80% of recycled materials. These changes set the path for a major change in the Australian shopping market and there have been no signs of it slowing down.
The start of 2019 welcomes the news of Coca-Cola Amatil deciding to phase out plastic straws in Australia. The plastic drinking straws will stop being supplied to stockists over the next few months. Instead, Australians can expect to see recyclable and biodegradable straws in local cafes and restaurants, supplied from BioPak and Austraw. The environmentally-friendly straws will be made available to around 115,000 businesses Australia-wide in February.
The Group Managing Director Alison Watkins released a statement on the future plans for the company. She said: "We are working towards phasing out unnecessary and problematic single-use plastics entirely, through improved design, innovation or the use of recycled alternatives."
Alison Watkins intends for 100% of Coca-Cola Amatil's Australian packaging to be fully recyclable by 2025, including all bottles, cans, plastic wrap, straws, glass and cardboard.
Source: Shutterstock
Coca-Cola phasing out plastic straws is great news for the Australian shopping market as another major company joins the movement towards a sustainable future. There is growing concern on the environmental impact of plastic straws. They can take hundreds, or sometimes thousands of years to break down. Plastic straws are generally used only once, and then thrown away. Think about how many you have used in your lifetime, and then think about everyone else too. They end up in our waterways and cause harm to the natural life in our ocean systems.
Where to shop metal straws:
If you are interested in cutting back on your own single-plastic use, you can purchase your own metal straw. They are great because you can use it at home, at the office, or when you go out to eat. Most of them come in a package that you can carry around, so there really is no excuse!
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