Kiama Council reminds our community of the ban on a range of plastic items starting next month (November).
The NSW Government ban on lightweight plastic shopping bags started in June.
From this Tuesday (1 November), this ban will be extended to:
• Plastic single-use cutlery, plates, bowls, stirrers and straws
• Plastic single-use cotton buds
• Expanded polystyrene food ware
• Plastic microbeads in rinse off personal hygiene products
The ban applies even if these products are made from biodegradable, compostable, or bioplastics.
The ban applies to businesses, packaging suppliers, community groups and not-for-profit organisations.
Plastic packaging and single-use plastic items make up 60% of litter in NSW.
It’s estimated that these bans will prevent almost 2.7 billion plastic items from polluting our environment, especially waterways over the next 20 years.