I wrote to the candidates of Wentworth and ask for their views on the idea of Cigarette-style warnings on single-use coffee cups and so far I have had the following responses:
Hi, Anna.
As the Animal Justice Party candidate for Wentworth, I fully support your campaign, especially because I'm shocked at the devastating effects that non-recyclable coffee cups are having on birds and marine animals. If elected, I'll do whatever I can to advance the campaign, and meanwhile, I wish you luck in getting people to come out of their trance and take responsibility for the cup their coffee comes in!
Best wishes from Deb Doyle
Dear Anna,
I support your campaign, particularly "This cup cannot be recycled," notices on coffee cups. My heart sinks when I see side-by-side landfill and recycling bins both filled mainly with disposable cups.
Individual actions are important and I'm really glad that awareness around waste is increasing.
I'm also interested in finding an upstream solution, perhaps a broad "pollution tax" levied on single-use items that have a reusable alternative.
It's likely that producers would pass on the cost of such a tax, but that extra cost would send a price signal and encourage reusable cups and sitting-in for coffee. Also, wasteful use of natural resources should not be cheap; the cost of environmental protection needs to be factored in and the revenue from a pollution tax should be used for environmental initiatives.
Please note that the above is not Science Party policy at this point in time, although the Science Party does have a principle of environmental protection. These are just my personal thoughts and, if elected, I would use parliamentary resources to research which measures are likely to be most effective in reducing waste.
Best regards and good luck with your campaign!
Andrea Leong | Candidate for Wentworth
Science Party
I will keep you posted on any further responses.
In the meantime feel free to contact the candidates yourself to find out their position on warnings on single-use coffee cups.
Go to: https://www.aec.gov.au/wentworth/candidate-details.htm
Thanks for your support!
Anna