'We need to change the system': Greens call for ban on single-use plastic

The party has criticised the government's "failure to tackle the waste crisis" by lagging behind the rest of the country in banning single-use plastics.

Other than a ban on lightweight plastic bags in 2013 and council-level bans in Hobart and Launceston, Tasmania is the only Australian jurisdiction without a ban or a time frame for a ban on single-use plastics.

Greens candidate for Lyons Tabatha Badger said it was a shame to see the state this way, given it used to be a leader on environmental policy.

"People right across Tasmania and indeed the nation are cleaning up after big corporations with our single-use plastic issue," she said.

"This is not the job of the community and everyday people, this is a consequence of a monumental failure within the government."

The Australian Marine Conservation Society released a scorecard in November 2023 to rate jurisdictions by the number of single-use plastics had been or were planned to be banned.

South Australia has banned eight of the 24 items, with plans to ban another 12 over the next two years.

Western Australia led the nation, with 11 banned items and four more to come in 2024.

Tasmania scores one out of 24 for its 2013 ban on lightweight plastic bags.

Ms Badger said if the Greens were included in a minority government, the party would work with industries, businesses and communities to create a timeline for a complete ban.

"Tasmania is so far behind every other state and there's no excuse for it whatsoever," she said.

"It's 2024 and Tasmanians are still waiting for a container deposit scheme that was promised years ago. Cleary tackling the waste crisis has not been a priority of the government."

The Lyons candidate added that pollution was no longer a faraway problem, with toxic and dangerous plastics now a common sight.

"Waste is a design flaw. It shouldn't exist," Ms Badger said.

"To change the way we tackle waste, we need to change the system that perpetuates it."