Single-Use Plastic To Be Banned in NSW
NSW generates 800,000 tones of plastics every year. “Only 10 per cent of plastics in New South Wales are recycled, with the rest ending up in landfill, or worse, littering our streets, dumped in our parks and washing up in our waterways,” Environment Minister Matt Kean said.
To combat this conundrum, the NSW Government passed the Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021. As per the the government’s $356 million plan, an array of single-use plastics will be outlawed in NSW within a year.
Input from over 16,000 people helped develop this legislation and the related NSW Plastics Action Plan. Support for action on plastic waste was widespread with 98% supporting a phase out of single-use plastics.
This legislation provides a comprehensive framework that will help transition NSW towards a circular economy where materials and resources are valued and kept in the productive economy while creating jobs and protecting the environment and the community.
Lightweight single-use plastic bags were banned from 1 June, and from 1 November, the NSW Government is banning further items, including:
• single-use plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery, plates, bowls (without lids) and cotton buds
• food ware and cups made from expanded polystyrene
• rinse-off personal care products containing plastic microbeads.
FUTURE BANS
Single-use plastic items not scheduled for phase out remain of concern. However, both Government and industry need to do more work to ensure sustainable alternatives are widely available. We will review further items and the available alternatives by 2024 (3 years from passage of legislation) to determine whether a phase out is appropriate at that time.
The NSW Plastics Action Plan identifies the following items for review, though more items may be added:
• plastic bowls (with lids)
• plastic cups (including lids)
• oxo-degradable plastics
• fruit stickers
• heavyweight plastic shopping bags
• barer and product bags
Visit the plastics ban website: https://nswplasticsban.com.au/
To combat this conundrum, the NSW Government passed the Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021. As per the the government’s $356 million plan, an array of single-use plastics will be outlawed in NSW within a year.
Input from over 16,000 people helped develop this legislation and the related NSW Plastics Action Plan. Support for action on plastic waste was widespread with 98% supporting a phase out of single-use plastics.
This legislation provides a comprehensive framework that will help transition NSW towards a circular economy where materials and resources are valued and kept in the productive economy while creating jobs and protecting the environment and the community.
Lightweight single-use plastic bags were banned from 1 June, and from 1 November, the NSW Government is banning further items, including:
• single-use plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery, plates, bowls (without lids) and cotton buds
• food ware and cups made from expanded polystyrene
• rinse-off personal care products containing plastic microbeads.
FUTURE BANS
Single-use plastic items not scheduled for phase out remain of concern. However, both Government and industry need to do more work to ensure sustainable alternatives are widely available. We will review further items and the available alternatives by 2024 (3 years from passage of legislation) to determine whether a phase out is appropriate at that time.
The NSW Plastics Action Plan identifies the following items for review, though more items may be added:
• plastic bowls (with lids)
• plastic cups (including lids)
• oxo-degradable plastics
• fruit stickers
• heavyweight plastic shopping bags
• barer and product bags
Visit the plastics ban website: https://nswplasticsban.com.au/ 