There are additional benefits such as enhanced amenity from litter reduction and greater tourism appeal of Noosa and the wider Sunshine Coast region . These benefits are more difficult to value and , while they are recognised as being important , they have been omitted from the analysis .
Figure 2 . The Broad Focus of the Plastic Free Places Program Source : Boomerang Alliance , 2019 , Plastic Free Places - Overview
It was found the average café produces 1.67 tonnes of plastics per annum . This enables the above values to be applied to estimate the total benefits .
• Straws ;
• Coffee cups ;
• Coffee cup lids ;
• Takeaway containers ;
• Takeaway container lids ;
• Cold cups ;
• Cold cup lids ;
• Disposable cutlery ( set of three );
• Plastic bags ; and
• Water bottles .
Investigations revealed that wholesalers already make available non-plastic alternatives , including products based on :
• Bagasse ( sugarcane pulp );
• Bamboo ;
• Palm leaf products ;
• Wood products ; and
• Cardboard ( and other paper stocks ).
From the research undertaken , an estimate was made of the volume of the above items produced by each café and this was extrapolated to all cafes in Noosa . An estimate was made of the destination of waste generated , being 60 % to landfill , 32 % to land litter and 8 % to the marine environment .
A ‘ plausible scenario ’ was developed through detailed investigation of the prospects for reduction at source , recycling , composting and energy recovery . It was concluded that there can be 100 % substitution of plastics with commercially compostable materials and there can be 25 % reduction of waste through reduction of throughput at source and that 100 % of residual waste can be commercially composted .
THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF POSITIVE INTERVENTION The costs of moving to a plastics free environment were identified as :
• Program costs equate to $ 588 per café ( but fall to zero when plastics free becomes the norm ); and
• The additional cost of non-plastic items is estimated at $ 6,847 per café per annum ( but again falling over time , as suppliers achieve economies of scale ).
The benefits ( per café per annum ) were assessed to be :
• Benefits to plastics ‘ reducers ’ - those who assist with prevention , minimisation and re-use by purchasing re-usable items @ $ 937.50 - measured net of café costs and considering willingness to pay by consumers ;
• Reduced landfill @ $ 74.22 ( excluding the landfill levy as this is a transfer payment );
• Value of compost @ $ 5 per tonne ( net of costs );
• Reduced land litter @ $ 9,456 per tonne ;
• Reduced marine litter @ $ 55,592 per tonne .
It was concluded that there can be 100 % substitution of plastics with commercially compostable materials and there can be 25 % reduction of waste through reduction of throughput at source and that 100 % of residual waste can be commercially composted .
The costs and benefits streams were ‘ modelled ’ over a 40-year period and various discount rates were applied to calculate the ratio of benefits to costs . The ratio was estimated ( at 6 % discount rate ) to be 4.33:1 . Hence , for every dollar invested in going plastic-free , the return is $ 4.33 .
It is important to recognise that the majority of benefits are associated with reduced marine litter where a high value is attached . This reflects a very high willingness to pay by the community to address this problem that is widely documented in the literature . Sensitivity analysis was carried out on this and all variables , with the ‘ worst case ’ still returning a positive ratio of benefits to costs .
Discarded plastic is harmful to marine life , the environment , the tourism industry and the economy
Image Source : Brian Yurasits on Unsplash
In this scenario , the amount of litter to land and to the marine environment is minimal , and that which occurs is relatively benign . For example , paper straws will break down readily and will therefore , have limited adverse impacts in the marine environment .
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL VOL 13 NO 2 2020 41