New South Wales Australia Single Use Plastics ban started in November

The NSW Government’s ban on certain single-use plastic items came into effect on 1 November 2022.

The NSW single-use plastic ban will prevent almost 2.7 billion items of plastic litter from entering the environment in NSW over the next 20 years.

It’s time to review your plans and make sure you’re ready.
What's banned from 1 November

  • Single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cutlery

  • Single-use plastic plates, bowls and cotton buds

  • Expanded polystyrene foodware (such as clamshell containers, cups, plates and bowls)

  • Rinse-off personal care products containing plastic microbeads

This follows the ban on lightweight plastic bags with handles (35 microns or less) from 1 June this year.

Get savvy about banned items and their alternatives with our photo galleries.


Let's Stop it and Swap it

Shocking images of plastic pollution in the ocean and a turtle choking on a plastic bag feature in a thought-provoking advertising campaign released ahead of the NSW Government’s November single-use plastic ban.

Our new Stop it and Swap it campaign is a stark reminder about why the NSW single-use plastic bans are critical for our environment and why we must all change our behaviour.



Why are we banning some single-use plastic items?

While plastic is a versatile and useful material, it is increasingly threatening our natural environment. Single-use plastic items, designed to be used once and then thrown away, are cheap and convenient, but they pose an enormous threat to our environment. 

Plastic packaging and single-use plastic items make up 60% of all litter in NSW.

A number of the most littered single-use plastic items will be banned under the Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021 These bans will prevent nearly 2.7 billion plastic items from entering the coastal, marine and bushland environments of NSW over the next 20 years.

The legislation also provides a comprehensive framework that will help transition NSW towards a circular economy where materials and resources are valued and kept in the productive economy while creating jobs and protecting the environment and the community.


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