Lightweight single-use plastic bags were banned from 1 June, and from 1 November, the NSW Government is banning further items, including:
- plastic single-use cutlery (including plastic chopsticks and sporks)
- plastic single-use straws
- plastic single-use stirrers
- plastic single-use plates
- plastic single-use bowls (excluding bowls with a spill-proof lid whether separate or attached, for example those used for a take-away soup)
- expanded polystyrene (EPS) food service items
- plastic cotton buds
- plastic microbeads in certain rinse off personal care products.
Until 1 January 2025, the bans do not apply to integrated packaging, being plastic items that are, by way of a machine-automated process:
- an integrated part of packaging material used to seal or contain food or beverages, including pre-packaged portions of food or beverages, or
- included within or attached to packaging material used to seal or contain food or beverages, including pre-packaged portions of food or beverages.
Examples include a spoon sealed within the packaging of a yoghurt cup by a machine-automated process, or a sealed EPS cup containing dry noodles with soup powder by a machine-automated process.
Some exemptions may apply for the use of certain single-use plastic products.
