IndigiScapes leads the way in plastic reduction in south-east Queensland

IndigiScapes Café on Redlands Coast has become south-east Queensland’s first Certified Plastic Free Champion in Boomerang Alliance’s Plastic Free Places program.

The Redland City Council environmental education facility at Capalaba has further strengthened its sustainability credentials by having its IndigiCafe accredited under the program that aims to phase out single-use plastics at hospitality sites.

The program provides free assistance to food retailers, helping to make the transition away from single-use plastics as simple as possible. Thanks to funding from the Queensland Government, the program has joined forces with Council to offer this support to Redlands Coast businesses.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said it was an honour to be the first establishment certified to be a Plastic Free Champion in the south-east region.

“Council is exploring how the program can roll-out citywide by encouraging other Redlands Coast cafes and restaurants to follow our lead,” Cr Williams said.

“We know that there are many business owners who want to make changes, but they simply don’t have the time to research the best options available to them. That’s why we’re thrilled to be supporting this program.”

The program, run by peak not-for-profit organisation The Boomerang Alliance, has worked with thousands of businesses to eliminate more than 25 million single-use plastic items since 2018, including coffee cups, takeaway containers and other foodware items.

“Many hospitality businesses are using far more plastic than they realise. We can fix that!” said Program Coordinator, Katie Barton-Harvey.

“Even for businesses who are already plastic free, we can take them to the next level, helping them to reduce waste and packaging costs. We make it simple and easy to achieve.

“We are delighted to add IndigiScapes to our program and for it to be recognised as the first Certified Plastic Free Champion for south-east Queensland.”

To officially mark the partnership, Council and the Boomerang Alliance signed a Memorandum of Understanding at IndigiCafe today, 17 November 2023.

Division 7 Councillor Rowanne McKenzie said that since its opening in February 2000, IndigiScapes has been a leader in providing resources and experiences to the community about how to live a sustainable life.

“Becoming a certified Plastic Free Champion is another feather in the cap for this progressive centre that the local community is already incredibly proud of,” Cr McKenzie said.

To meet the requirements of the Plastic Free Places program, IndigiCafe has taken a number of measures, including: swapping out takeaway coffee cup lids for lids made from sugar cane; replacing cold takeaway cups for compostable paper cups; replacing single use sugar sachets with sugar cubes; and providing reusable coffee cups onsite sourced from Pottery for Planet.

To find out more and join, please head to plasticfreeplaces.org/seq-join