Single Use Coffee Cups Program

This report was triggered by a motion this report was triggered by a notified motion that passed through Council in June of this year. The motion called for Council to work with and support tourism noosa's Plastic Free Noosa program to develop a scalable action plan and show leadership by shifting away from single-use coffee cups in Council space. Some may say that single-use coffee cups are not the most important issue for us to tackle as an organisation or as a community. However, it is hard not to notice how prevalent they are in the lives of many businesses and many customers here in Noosa and around the country. The takeaway cup has people become even prefer the takeaway cup as something that we accept as normal. Some no longer offer ceremony for mugs to customers. It's become part of our culture, a that accepts and encourages. While the industry has done well to move from petroleum-based. While the industry has done away well to move away from petroleum-based plastic linings in coffee cups, and we've encouraged that shift, the compostable cup still ends up in landfills and generates emissions. It's estimated that australians throw away 1.5 billion. So today we present a report that furthers our commitment to work. So today we present a report that furthers our commitment to work on supporting the industry and community to take action on reducing the number of single community support cuts. Of Noosa Council staff, have a warm welcome. Plastic Free Noosa, with the support of Noosa Council staff, have already engaged several local businesses and service providers that offer scalable solutions to address the single community cuts. It's clear that some people in our community are ready for change. This report outlines a strategy to support an industry-led approach to phasing out single community coffee costs. We will work with industry partners that are ready to go on this journey and encourage them to take a slow and calculated approach that achieves zero waste supports customers. Council facilities and Council-led events to investigate alternatives to single-use cups. While we're not in a position to mandate behaviour change, we will continue to educate, advocate and inspire progress towards culture. The next stage of action is simple, which is outlined in the report, which is to call a roundtable of businesses that want to explore a single-use cup phase-out, to have industry-leading solution providers share their solutions and learnings, and support a cohort of people who are ready to take the lead in this space. We will continue to support the leadership of plastic-free mission programs. We will continue to support the leadership of plastic-free mission programs with staff time, and if Tourism Noosa is unable to provide a small budget to further the program, sustainability operational budget from Council will possibly contribute to program costs, and those are outlined in the report.

Amelia Lorentson20:12

Thank you. Thanks. One last question, so the LGAQ motion that I've put forward, which was supported unanimously by Council, and almost had unanimous support across 77 councils, in terms of accelerating the national plastic plan and the national pestiging road. I know we were up to- I put it on- put it on hold. I do not know at this time, but we can take that on notice. I do not know at this time, but we can take that on notice. I'm sorry. We'll take that on notice though and we'll send an email. That's all right. We'll take that on notice though and we'll send an email. Any, I'll speak to it. I'm happy to move, can I have a second? Thank you, Tom. And I'll just say that I'm happy to speak to it. To say that I'm happy about this report is an understatement. I think the $5,600 that has been asked to support this is, my in my the most effective. And impactful marketing investment this Council can make. When I moved the notified motion in June 2025, it made front page news across the State. Noosa Council, Plastic Free Noosa, Ben Clark from Sunshine Social were on the 6 o'clock ears in the courier mail, Sunshine Coast daily and in local café papers across Queensland. Why? Because it was good news. Because it matters. And because it opens a conversation. And because everyone can do it. And because we can't actually do it alone. We need courage, to start conversation, to challenge the norm, and to say that it's not acceptable to buy coffee, drink it, and three minutes later throw the cup into a landfill. To note courage to start conversation, to challenge the norm, and to say that it's not acceptable to buy coffee, drink it, and three minutes there was a ripple effect from that. After the media coverage, professor Ian Lowe from the biosphere contacted me and said that the Brisbane cafes had seen a huge uptake in businesses committing reusable. The biosphere board itself soon afterwards voted to support the initiative reinforcing that this is not just a local project, it's part of a broader movement. And I want take to this moment to acknowledge the Plastic Free Noosa program, led with vision and determination by no better person than Jen Sharpe. She is a seriously incredible driver of this program. The has already shifted community behaviours. It's already reduced waste and it's already good, strong partnerships between our Council, businesses and residents. Thank you very much. Again, by backing this program, we're not just funding an environmental initiative, we're investing in cultural change. Like and to I also want to note that in plastic cream free so Noosa. Long. I also want to note that this Plastic Free Noosa program was recently recognised for winning the prestigious SpiceSphere thriving nature award last month. I want to thank the industry to leaders and businesses and I also want to do a shout out to the Kin Kin Market for being the first market that recently put their hand up to transition away from single-use coffee cups and we're working at the moment with Kin Kin to make it the first village structure to jump on board. Having said that, when I spoke to the guys down at Kin Kin Market, they wanted to take on the challenge and become the first village. So again, the conversation, it has ripple effects. I think our goal and we're about to embark on think our goal and we're about to embark on the Destination Management Plan is that we've got to dream big, we've got to think big, and our goal should be that every café in your Lisa, I will to cheer for you. Voluntarily, and I stress voluntarily, throw out some of those coffee cups. And this is how I think we should be marketing Noosa. Not with glossy summer campaigns, but with a campaign that tells the world this is who we are, this is what we value, and this is what we expect from our visitors. So, again, Noosa has always been Different by Nature. Been Different by Nature, this that I came to Ireland, I know you guys appreciate it, so thank you shireen, I know you guys have been working on this for years. Just love, you know, and love those are really and you guys are really good. She talks about the driving pressure that comes from, you know, those high corridors downstairs in our environment department. So, thank you because all these initiatives are to be driven by someone. So, I think we have the right people here in Council and the right people in our community and of course we've got our amazing Jennifer from Plastic Free Noosa. So, super excited. Thank you. I'll just give you a second.

Councillor Finzel. The alternative options that we would be working with Plastic Free Noosa to offer to businesses, there are already solutions available in the industry today as they have to comply with all Australian regulations food safety standards so we wouldn't be looking to compromise in any way shape or form in the environmental health and community health along that with an alternative option moving away from single-use coffee cups. In fact, the reduction of a single-use item that can often end up as litter in our waterways may actually improve environmental health and community health so we think we need to stay steadfast to that and that will be a key criterion in our selection of recommended the service idea of the industry round table is really to get those service of the industry round table is really to get those service providers in front of business owners and business owners can ask exactly these kinds of questions which are really important because ultimately the business owner a café, ultimately the business owner runs a café that is responsible for health and safety and they would want to know how they can support workplace a and they would want to know how they can support a healthy workplace and ensure the health and safety of their customers.

Amelia Lorentson51:18

In terms of a little bit of history, I actually asked an ex-Councillor you know, about who pushed this organisational emissions and brought us into this really important space with climate change. And credit where credit's due, and it was the previous Mayor of Noosa Shire Council, Councillor Tony Wellington. And I think what I think I spoke just before in terms of reusable single-use coffee cups, you need drivers and those drivers should start at the top. So in 2016 we had. Tony Wellington driving everything in the space of climate change and I've got a list of just a whole bunch of things that he did. Again, credit where credit's due. And also part of my little investigation is I also understand under our Local Government Act that the understanding of what's considered perpetual succession that once Council makes a decision it stands in perpetuity. I love that so we need to absolutely step up. This is critical and it's got to be driven from the top.

I believe it is enough. It is not enough to tackle the whole issue. But I think that given that this is such an issue. But I think that given that this is such an we phase out cups, we can phase out a lot of other things. If we phase out coffee cups, we can see success in this program. Can see success in this program and we can build on budget allocation from there.