Marriott is underway to replace single-use plastics across its global network by 2022.
Students from UQ visited Noosa recently to conduct research on the issue.

A research project which may ultimately lead to a blanket ban of single-use plastic amenities across Queensland has been launched by a consortium of students and tourism entities in the Sunshine State.

Alongside Tourism Noosa’s ‘Refresh Noosa’ program, which aims to eliminate single-use plastic amenities in resorts and apartments throughout the region, the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) and University of Queensland (UQ) are thinking bigger.

Students at the UQ Business School plan to look at the use and wastage of miniature amenities across Queensland and the opportunities available to switch to sustainable and refillable bottles. The final report is expected to be complete and available next month.

Under the Noosa initiative, a number of small resort and holiday apartment operators unaffiliated with any larger management companies are preparing to trial or switch to refillable amenity bottles. These include the Culgoa Point Beach Resort and Seahaven Noosa. In the Sunshine Coast city alone, more than two million single-use amenity bottles go to landfill every year.

QTIC Chief Executive, Daniel Gschwind said the state’s entire tourism industry shared the goal of identifying the impact of single-use amenities on Queensland’s environment.

“The project will provide some insight into the current quantity of single-use plastic guest amenities being disposed of in landfills, as well as alternative opportunities that we can provide to our members which will assist in moving towards more sustainable alternatives,” he said.