Cottesloe council reels in bait bags with plastic ban

COTTESLOE Council included fish bait bags in its ban on single-use plastics at its functions and private and public events.

Cr Sandra Boulter said she hoped the ban would “make people think twice about taking their bait in something else”.

Cottesloe’s 2013-2023 Strategic Community Plan prioritises reducing litter, and with the town’s western border comprising the stand-alone Fish Habitat Protection Zone, Cr Boulter said any restriction on plastics could help the potentially “catastrophic” effect on the marine environment.

The ban covers plastic bottles, cutlery, straws, bags, containers, straws, wrappers, lids coffee cups and sweet wrappers with plastic of 35 microns or less.

It follows the council leading the charge against gas-filled balloons that pollute the marine environment after they deflate.

The ban is not new and has operated as an ad-hoc condition on applications for several functions in the past two months.

Cr Boulter said there had been no complaints to date.

She said food van operators captured by the ban could seek compatible products that can go to compost, and weddings at the Broome Street Civic Centre’s garden would be one of the events covered by the restriction.

However, the council did recognise that some plastics would be needed for medical and other personal uses during events, if there were no other options.

They asked that non-conforming plastics be disposed outside of the town.

“The single-use plastics that are exempted either need to be recycled, stored or stored safely,” Cr Michael Tucak said.

The ban is effectively immediately, but the council will conduct its own waste reduction check before November.