18 Bondi EASTERN SUBURBS
EASTERN SUBURBS
BUZZ
While plastic is a versatile and useful product, it’s increasingly threatening our natural environment. Single-use plastic items are those designed to be used once and then thrown away. They are cheap and convenient, but they pose an enormous threat to our environment.
Ed 42, June, 2022
SINGLE USE PLASTICS BAN
Plastic packaging and single-use plastic items make up 60% of all litter in NSW. The Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021, which was passed by NSW Parliament on November 16, 2021, sets out the items to be banned in NSW. These bans will prevent nearly 2.7 billion plastic items from entering the coastal, marine and bushland environments of NSW over the next 20 years. The legislation also 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. The NSW Government has committed to banning certain problematic plastics, such as single-use plastics, and addressing the problem of plastic waste. From June 1, 2022, the supply of lightweight plastic bags will be banned in NSW. And from November 1, 2022, the supply of single-use plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery, bowls and plates and expanded polystyrene (EPS) food service items will be banned in NSW. The supply of single-use plastic cotton buds and
microbeads in rinse-off personal care products will also be banned in NSW. The bans affect everyone ... businesses, organisations, and consumers. Consumers will no longer receive banned plastic items when purchasing goods, including take-away food. This will start to be noticed from June 1 when lightweight plastic bags are banned, and again from November 1 when other items are banned, including single-use plastic straws,
stirrers, cutlery, plates, bowls and cottonbuds, expanded polystyrene food service items and rinse-off personal care products containing plastic microbeads. Alternatives to banned items may be provided by businesses and organisations or, ideally, consumers can bring their own. If consumers still have banned single-use plastic items at home once the bans come into effect, they can continue to use them for personal use but they cannot supply them for
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operation of a business or organisation such as a sporting or community club. The bans applies to anyone who supplies a prohibited item in NSW while carrying on a business. This includes carrying on a business for commercial purposes. It is not an offence to supply a banned item to a person outside NSW, but it is recommended that you check for similar bans in other jurisdictions.
