Vancouver votes to ban plastic straws, foam cups and containers by June 2019

Vancouver has voted to ban the distribution of plastic straws as well as foam take-out containers and cups as part of its zero-waste strategy.

Drinking straws protrude from a glass in an illustration
 picture in Loughborough, Britain April 19, 2018.

The ban will be introduced on June 1, 2019. 

The move is part of the city's Zero Waste 2040 strategy, which was approved by councillors in a vote on Wednesday.

Read the CBC story - “Vancouver votes to ban plastic straws, foam cups and containers by June 2019.”

Taiwan Announces Ban on All Plastic Bags, Straws, and Utensils

All single-use plastic must be phased out by 2030.

Ordering take-out, picking up groceries, buying a soft drink — these are all activities that will change over the next decade in Taiwan when the island nation imposes a blanket ban on single-use plastic bags, straws, and cups, according to the Hong Kong Free Press.

It will be one of the farthest-reaching bans on plastic in the world, and it demonstrates the momentum of the anti-plastic movement as the scale of environmental harm caused by the substance is fully realized.

"We aim to implement a blanket ban by 2030 to significantly reduce plastic waste that pollutes the ocean and also gets into the food chain to affect human health," said Lai Ying-yaun, a Taiwanese Environmental Protection Agency official, in a statement.

Read the Global Citizen story by Joe McCarthy - “Taiwan Announces Ban on All Plastic Bags, Straws, and Utensils.”

Final straw? Darebin bans balloons, other plastics from council parks

Balloons, water bottles and other plastics, including bags, straws and cups, are to be banned from public land in part of Melbourne’s north in a bid to reduce pollution.

There'll be no balloons at your next park party.

Darebin Council, which includes Northcote, Thornbury and Preston, has voted unanimously to prohibit single-use plastics from being used or sold on council land.

“They are polluting our parks and waterways, including our many creeks,” Greens councillor Trent McCarthy said.

The ban includes the use of balloons at parties, festivals, workshops and markets and during election campaigns on all council property, including public parks. 

Read the story by Chloe Booker in The Age - “Final straw? Darebin bans balloons, other plastics from council parks.”