The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has declared plastic straws exempt from the next stage of single-use plastic bans due to come into effect on 1 November.
Executive Director Engagement, Education and Programs at EPA, Liesbet Spanjaard said people who needed to use plastic straws for medical or disability reasons and the suppliers who provided or sold them in NSW would still be able to do so.
Ms Spanjaard said the exemption would help people who relied on single-use plastic straws to maintain their quality of life.
“The exemption will ensure that people who need straws for disability or medical reasons, or others acting on their behalf like carers, family and teachers, can continue to access them even after they are banned in NSW later this year,” Ms Spanjaard said.
“Importantly, it also means that individuals and organisations that need to continue supplying and selling plastic straws after 1 November for medical or disability purposes will be legally able to do so as set out in the exemption,” she said.
“This includes hospitality venues and food and drink providers such as restaurants, cafes, school canteens and kiosks, as well as chemists or pharmacies, health facilities such as medical, dental and nursing homes, and manufacturers, producers, wholesalers and online suppliers.”
Ms Spanjaard said the EPA was specifically empowered to grant the single-use plastic straws exemption under the Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021.
She said the November single-use plastic bans were set to include straws, cutlery, stirrers, plates, bowls, cotton buds, expanded polystyrene foodware and cups, and rinse-off personal care products that contained microbeads.
The Executive Director said the phase-out of these single-use plastic items would prevent almost 2.7 billion items of plastic litter from entering the environment and waterways in NSW over the next 20 years.
Further information about the single-use plastics ban can be accessed at this PS News link.
