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Single-use plastic plates and bowls, plastic-stemmed cotton buds and the little tables that come in pizza boxes will be banned from September next year in South Australia under a plan announced by the state government.
Key points:
- SA was the first state to ban lightweight plastic shopping bags, straws and cutlery
- More products are set to join the banned list in 2023
- No-one was fined for breaching the existing laws last financial year
Single-use plastic food containers and plastic cups for coffee and cold drinks will be banned the year after, along with produce bags and heavier boutique-style plastic bags.
Plastic fruit stickers, soy sauce fish and straws attached to fruit boxes will be banned from September 2025.
Environment Minister Susan Close announced the new timetable for banning the products while at the Adelaide Zoo this morning.
"The idea of plastic is to take and use and throw away, that's gone now," she said.
"People no longer want to be part of that; they don't want to have that as the only alternative in front of them."
Consultation will open on the plan in February.
"One of the reasons we're announcing this forward program now is to enable businesses to get ready," Dr Close said.
"The transition will be straightforward, but it is a transition — we want to make sure businesses are well prepared for that."
In 2009, South Australia became the first state to ban lightweight plastic shopping bags.
The state banned the sale or distribution of plastic straws, cutlery and drink stirrers in 2021.
This was followed in March this year with a ban on polystyrene cups, bowls, plates and clamshell containers.
Wendy Bevan from KESAB said it was good to see South Australia again leading the nation in anti-litter measures.
"From what we know at KESAB, plastic coffee cups and plastic straws are very prominent in the litter stream so to see moves with a good time frame and a lead-in and consultation to ban those items, which is what people want, is a great move," she said.
"We also see some confusion in the community about what to do with some of this troublesome plastic so certainty and a lead-in to make sure we can get rid of these single-use plastics is just a great move."
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is responsible for enforcing the bans.
Dr Close told state parliament in June that no-one had been fined or charged with breaching the laws in the 2021–22 financial year.
The EPA sent out nine warning letters.
Dr Close said there was no plan to increase the fine amounts and it was unlikely new compliance officers would be employed.
Opposition Leader David Speirs was the environment minister when the last ban came into place.
He said the bans were not coming into place as quickly as he would like, with Labor choosing to use legislation to bring them in rather than regulation.
"We would have liked to have seen this at least started about six months ago," Mr Speirs said.
"The way we foresaw this being unfolded was a range of things banned every six months and you could continue to build on that and get real momentum around this."
Laws passed South Australia's parliament in July to make it easier for retailers to allow customers to use their own reusable containers to take away food.