South Australians are to be able to BYO containers when grocery shopping or taking food home from cafés under new laws aimed at reducing the impact of food packaging waste on the environment.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, Susan Close said new laws passed in Parliament last week (5 July) allowed South Australian food outlets to give customers the option of bringing their own reusable containers without public liability problems.
“The changes to the Civil Liability Act 1936 will remove liability from cafés and supermarkets and the like for anything that goes wrong with food purchased and transported in a BYO container,” Ms Close said.
“Businesses will still be able to choose whether or not they will allow consumers to bring their own containers,” she said.
“The Bill simply provides protection for the business and does not impose any requirement on them.”
Ms Close said that in the event a business did act in bad faith, including selling food not fit for consumption, or food subject to a recall order, then they would not be absolved from a civil liability.
“The cost to the environment and the massive carbon footprint of single-use items can’t continue to be ignored if we want to properly address climate change,” she said.
“This bill is another important step towards reducing the use of single-use items.
“We know that food packaging waste carries an enormous cost for the environment.
“Once the packaging has been disposed, it contributes to large quantities of landfill and can end-up in our waterways.
“These changes also respond to the growing number of South Australian consumers wanting to reduce their use of single-use items,” Ms Close said.
