The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) has welcomed the ACT government's proposed legislation to introduce a ban on single-use plastics.
Plastic cutlery, plastic stirrers, and expanded polystyrene takeaway containers will be the first to go under legislation expected to be introduced in the first quarter of 2020.
In a nation-first, the ACT government has announced plastic fruit and vegetable bags will also be banned 12 months after the legislation is introduced, as well as oxodegradable plastic products and plastic straws – with exemptions for people with disabilities.
AMCS spokesperson Shane Cucow said: "Australians are shocked to know birds are feeding plastic to their babies. Our wildlife have had a gutful, and so have we.
"A ban on dangerous single-use plastics is the solution that will save turtles and seabirds from choking on plastic.
"By including notorious plastic fruit and vegetable bags in the proposed ban, the ACT government is setting the bar for other States and Territories.
"We applaud the ACT government for joining South Australia and Queensland in banning dangerous single-use plastics in 2020. We urge the rest of Australia to step up to the plate.
"Australians deserve clean, healthy oceans full of life - it's good for our beaches and sea life, for our health and for our huge tourism industry."
Cucow added that AMCS is part of the Boomerang Alliance and joins their calls for single-use plastics bans to be urgently enacted within the next 12 months to start saving our iconic wildlife.
