It's time for Canberrans to take action to reduce their plastic waste. As reported today, it isn't difficult and it doesn't have to be inconvenient, it just takes a little commitment to change daily habits.
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When supermarkets changed their policy to ensure no more trolleys would end up in the lakes, people's habits changed.
![Canberra sent 953 tonnes of plastic to landfill in 2017-18. Picture: Bloomberg Canberra sent 953 tonnes of plastic to landfill in 2017-18. Picture: Bloomberg](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc75rkfpp7ei08uqcq4jl.jpg/r0_0_6720_4480_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Now trolleys require a gold coin to use, which is returned when the trolley is. It takes some extra thought to remember that coin, but after a few goes the habit forms.
Plastic is choking our wildlife, filling our oceans and the average person could be ingesting 2000 tiny pieces of plastic every week. It's hugely concerning when on the deepest dive ever made by a human inside a submarine, there were plastic bags and chocolate wrappers on the ocean floor.
Here in Canberra, we sent 953 tonnes of plastic to landfill in 2017-18 compared to 973 tonnes in 2010-11, which shows per capita usage is significantly down. That's a start. The plastic bag ban had a great deal to do with this.
Recent initiatives like Ainslie IGA allowing customers to bring their own reusable containers to use at the deli, and some cafes no longer providing straws are examples of what the community can be doing to achieve the goal of minimising the use of plastic waste.
Earlier this month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the country would ban single use plastics as early as 2021. The ACT government canvassed views earlier this year about phasing out single-use plastics in the territory.
The plan would include straws, stirrers, cutlery, disposable plates and cups, disposable coffee cups and lids, polystyrene food containers and light-weight fruit and vegetable bags banned.
It's a step in the right direction.
In the mean time, individuals and families in Canberra can and should be doing more. It's becoming even easier to access alternatives to plastic - keep cups, beeswax wraps, green bags - as more people get on board.
But it shouldn't be seen as a mountain too big to climb.
The thing is, if some people go plastic-free, that's great, but the biggest difference will be made when everyone tries to achieve that goal - albeit being imperfect in their attempt.
There is also room to improve on a bigger scale. Major corporations need to heed the call of consumers and stop the over-use of plastic to cover all sorts of fruit and vegetables. But as consumers, we can send a clear message by not buying those "convenient" packs.
It won't be convenient when our oceans are chock full of rubbish that doesn't biodegrade.