Over the past 18 months the team at Taronga Western Plains Zoo’s Bakhita’s Café have been making changes to help reduce the amount of single-use plastic utilised at the cafe.

“We have made a number of changes to help reduce our single-use plastic from the café including the introduction of paper straws, paper milkshake cups, removing plastic sauce packages from sale, having pies and sausage rolls without a plastic wrapping and offering bamboo cutlery for takeaways,” said chef, Veronica Campbell.

“Whilst we still have more we want to achieve, we are committed to reducing the use of single-use plastic and helping to beat plastic pollution.”

“This week, we are celebrating World Environment Day and encouraging people to help beat plastic pollution by making a change at their home or work place,” said Veronica.

Some of these changes could be as simple as taking reusable bags to the shops, buying loose fruit and vegetables rather than pre-packaged, and using a refillable water bottle or a reusable cup when buying a takeaway coffee.

“These changes may seem small but if everyone made one of them a habit it would help reduce the amount of plastic and waste we produce every year,” said Veronica.

Taronga Western Plains Zoo has also installed designated water bottle refill stations and bubblers in the Zoo grounds to aid using refillable water bottles as well as increasing the number of recycling bins on site.