October 2022
NSW Single Use Plastics Ban
Did you know that plastic packaging and single-use plastic items make up 60% of all litter in NSW and pose a major threat to our environment?
It’s for this reason, that the NSW Government is banning the supply of certain single-use plastics.
As we know, lightweight plastic shopping bags were banned in June 2022.
From 1 November 2022, the ban will be extended to include the following single-use plastic items:
- straws, stirrers, cutlery, plates, bowls and cotton buds
- expanded polystyrene foodware including cups, plates, bowls and clamshell items
- single-use plastic cotton buds
- rinse-off personal care products containing plastic microbeads.
The ban applies to items even if they are made from single-use biodegradable plastic, compostable plastic or bio-plastics.
These changes will prevent nearly 2.7 billion plastic items from entering the NSW natural environment over the next 20 years.
Resources including brochures and posters, FAQs and information about suitable alternatives are available to help businesses, schools and community organisations to communicate the ban.
For more information, visit the NSW Environment Protection Authority website.