1st of June New South Wales single use plastic bag ban

Single use plastics are now being phased out starting with lightweight plastic bags on the 1^st of June. The ban of lightweight plastic bags is just the first in a succession of bans that will see a range of environmentally damaging plastic items removed from NSW.

Plastic bags that will be banned from the 1^st of June include:

Lightweight plastic bags that are 35 microns or less.

Plastic bags that will not be banned from the 1^st of June include:

Plastic bags that are over 35 microns and barrier bags such as produce and deli bags, bin liners, compost caddy liners, nappy bags and pet waste bags.

This ban follows the passing of the Plastics Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021 from November last year by the NSW Government.

The problem with plastics

Currently single use plastic items and packaging make up 60% of all litter in NSW. Single use plastics remain in our environment for years and eventually break down into microplastics. These plastic bans will remove around 2.7 billion items from entering the NSW environment over the next 20 years.

Compostable and bioplastic alternatives are also included in the ban because they are just as much of an environmental problem as traditional plastic. This is because these alternatives do not biodegrade unless they are specially treated in an industrial composting facility so when littered they cause exactly the same problems.

Further plastic bans

More plastic bans will follow from November the 1^st which will see the following items removed from circulation:

Single use plastic straws

Stirrers

Cutlery

Plates

Bowls

cotton buds

Expanded polystyrene food ware and cups

Rinse off personal care products containing plastic microbeads

South Australia

South Australia’s ban on single use plastics commenced on the 1^st of march 2021 banning single use plastic straws, drink stirrers and cutlery. On the 1^st of march 2022, polystyrene food and beverage containers as well as oxo-degradable plastics will be banned.

Currently banned

Single use plastic straws

Drink stirrers

Cutlery

Polystyrene food and beverage containers

Oxo-degradable plastics

The ACT

The ACT governments ban on single use plastic cutlery, drink stirrers and polystyrene food and beverage containers commenced on the 1^st of July 2021 with straws, cotton bud sticks and degradable plastics to be phased out on the 1^st of July 2022.

Currently banned

Plastic cutlery

Drink stirrers

Polystyrene food and beverage containers

Banned on the 1^st of July 2022

Straws

Cotton bud sticks

Degradable plastics

Queensland

The Queensland Governments ban on single use plastics commenced on the 1^st of September 2021 banning single use plastic straws, drink stirrers, cutlery, plates, bowls and polystyrene food and beverage containers.

Currently banned

Single use plastic straws

Drink stirrers

Cutlery

Plates

Bowls

Polystyrene food and beverage containers

Victoria

Victoria’s Government has committed to ban single use plastics by February 2023 including single use plastic straws, cutlery, plates, drink stirrers, polystyrene food and drink containers, plastic cotton bud sticks and oxo-degradable plastics.

Banned on February 2023

Single use plastic straws

Cutlery

Plates

Drink stirrers

Polystyrene food and drink containers

Plastic cotton bud sticks

Oxo-degradable plastics

Northern territory

The northern territory Government has committed to ban single use plastics by 2025 under the NT Circular Economy Strategy proposing to ban plastic bags, plastic straws and stirrers, plastic cutlery, plastic bowls and plates, expanded polystyrene, consumer food containers, microbeads in personal care products, EPS consumer goods packaging and helium balloons.

Banned by 2025

Plastic bags

Plastic straws and Stirrers

Plastic cutlery

Plastic bowls and plates

Expanded polystyrene

Consumer food containers

Microbeads

EPS consumer goods packaging

Helium balloons

Tasmania

Tasmania has made no commitments to ban single use plastics.