Single-use plastics are on the way out with a ban on lightweight plastic bags from June 1. The ban on lightweight plastic bags is just the first in a succession of bans that will see a range of environmentally damaging plastic items disappear from NSW.
Plastic bags banned from 1 June include
- lightweight plastic bags of 35 microns or less (including compostable and bioplastic alternatives)
Plastics bags not banned from 1 June include
- thicker plastic bags over 35 microns (such as bags at some supermarkets and boutique stores)
- barrier bags such as produce and deli bags, bin liners, compost caddy liners, nappy bags and pet-waste bags
Retailer assistance
To help retailers adjust to the change, the NSW Government has partnered with the National Retail Association to run an education campaign for small businesses across NSW showing how they can phase out and replace single-use plastics.
Small businesses can also register with the EPA for help to recycle excess banned lightweight plastic bag stock .
The problem with plastics
The ban follows the passing of the Plastics Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021 in November last year by the NSW Government. Its positive impact on our State’s environment will be profound.
Currently single-use plastic items and packaging make up 60 per cent of all litter in NSW. Single-use plastics remain in our environment for years and then eventually break down into microplastics. These plastic bans alone will remove almost 2.7 billion items from entering the NSW environment over the next 20 years. That’s billions of plastic items no longer going into our lakes, streams, beaches, oceans, and landfills.
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Compostable and bioplastic alternatives are also captured by the ban because they are just as much of an environmental problem as traditional plastic. That’s because these so-called alternatives do not biodegrade unless they are specially treated in an industrial composting facility, so inevitably when littered they cause exactly the same problems.
Further plastic bans
Other plastic bans will follow from November 1, which will see the following items removed from circulation
- single-use plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery, plates, bowls, and cotton buds
- expanded polystyrene food ware and cups
- rinse-off personal care products containing plastic microbeads