The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation is fast-tracking four years off its Plan for Plastics program with single-use plastic bowls, cups, plates, cutlery, stirrers, straws, polystyrene food containers, thick plastic bags and helium balloon releases to be phased out by the end of this year.
The new timeframe will see the Plan for Plastics fully implemented by the end of 2022, four years earlier than originally planned.
The revised Plan for Plastics provides a roadmap towards a more sustainable, plastic-free State by implementing regulations to ban items in a two-stage approach.
Stage one, now to be completed by 31 December, includes plastic plates, bowls, cups, cutlery, stirrers, straws, thick plastic bags, polystyrene food containers, and helium balloon releases.
Stage two, now to be completed by the end of 2022, includes plastic barrier/produce bags, cotton buds with plastic shafts, polystyrene packaging, microbeads and oxo-degradable plastics.
Takeaway coffee cups and lids with single-use plastic materials have also been added to the Plan for Plastics and will be phased out in stage two. Consumers and businesses will be able to use alternative environmentally friendly takeaway cups and lids.
People who require single-use plastic items to maintain their quality of life, such as those in the disability, aged care and health sectors, are to be ensured a continued supply.
Minister for the Environment, Amber-Jade Sanderson said the new timeline demonstrated a strong commitment to reducing the impact of plastic use and plastic litter on the environment.
“The plastic bag ban has been embraced by retailers and the community; this is the next step of the journey to reduce landfill and ensure a healthy environment,” Ms Sanderson said.
“For most of us, this will only involve making small changes to our behaviour by adopting alternatives to single-use plastics and choosing to reuse,” she said.
