War on waste: more single-use plastics banished

Farid Farid |

The small plastic items choking the environment are to be phased out in one state’s war on waste.
The small plastic items choking the environment are to be phased out in one state’s war on waste.

Pesky plastic tags on loaves of bread, tiny soy sauce fish bottles and detachable bottle tops are all being binned by a state government battling a mounting rubbish crisis.

The ambitious clean-up is part of an expanded ban by NSW coinciding with the start of National Recycling Week.

The NSW Plastic Plan 2.0, will see the winding down of plastic bread tags and pizza box savers from late 2027 and non-compostable plastic fruit and vegetable stickers by 2030.

It will also require businesses to introduce tethered lids, meaning the cap or lid on a plastic bottle must remain attached to the bottle itself, even after it is opened, by 2030.

A plastic bottle and cap
Bottle caps are among the plastic making up around 74 per cent of litter in NSW waterways. (HANDOUT/NSW GOVERNMENT)

Without action, Sydney could run out of landfill space by 2030 with predictions there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050.

Plastic makes up around 74 per cent of litter in NSW waterways with less than 16 per cent of plastic waste recycled.

“Microplastics are entering our bodies and plastic is polluting our environment and oceans, killing our wildlife,” Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said on Sunday.

“This plan moves NSW another step closer to phasing out these problematic items.”

The move puts NSW in line with other states to tackle the 800,000 tonnes of plastic waste it generates each year.

Plastic soy sauce containers
There are predictions there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050, without action. (HANDOUT/NSW GOVERNMENT)

It will also cut out helium balloons in 2026, plastic bags with handles – regardless of thickness by 2027 and filters on washing machines by 2028 to combat a prolific source of microplastics.

Sushi lovers will have to adapt by 2030 with condiment containers such as soy sauce fish bottles being phased out and takeaway food containers will have to be redesigned to be recycled.

NSW began tackling problematic plastics in 2022 by phasing out items such as lightweight plastic bags, single-use cutlery, bowls, plates, stirrers and straws.

The Boomerang Alliance, representing more than 55 environmental groups, welcomed the ambitious proposal saying the most populous state had leapfrogged others in reducing plastic pollution.

South Australia was the first state in 2021 to prohibit single-use plastics followed by Queensland and the ACT.

AAP