{"id":13868,"date":"2021-11-17T02:32:49","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T02:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=13868"},"modified":"2021-11-17T02:32:49","modified_gmt":"2021-11-17T02:32:49","slug":"fork-in-the-road-for-single-use-plastics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2021\/11\/17\/fork-in-the-road-for-single-use-plastics\/","title":{"rendered":"Fork in the road for single-use plastics"},"content":{"rendered":"

The end is near for single use plastics, including bags, straws, cotton buds, plates, bowls and cutlery, after the\u00a0Plastics and Circular Economy Act 2021<\/em>\u00a0passed NSW Parliament today.
\nTreasurer and Minister for Energy and Environment Matt Kean said plastic packaging and single-use plastics make up 60 per cent of litter across the state, with single-use plastics to be phased out from June next year.
\n\u201cOnly 10 per cent of plastics in New South Wales are recycled, with the rest ending up in landfill, or worse, littering our streets, dumped in our parks and washing up in our waterways,\u201d Mr Kean said.
\n\u201cThe NSW Government is spending $356 million over the next five years to deliver the\u00a0NSW Plastics Action Plan<\/em>\u00a0and the\u00a0NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041<\/em>. This will help reduce the environmental impacts of plastics litter, while encouraging the development of new and innovative products.
\n\u201cThis legislation is expected to stop 2.7 billion single-use items from ending up in our natural environment and waterways over the next 20 years, and is a game-changer in the fight against plastic waste across our state.\u201d
\nBusinesses will be supported to transition to alternative products before the phase outs come into effect. Excemptions will also apply for members of the community who rely on particular single-use plastics for disability of health needs.
\nParliamentary Secretary for the Environment Felicity Wilson said a range of education and engagement campaigns will run to support consumers and businesses transition.
\n\u201cI want to thank the many businesses and households who have already voluntarily taken action to reduce their single-use plastics, particularly those who take their own reuseable bags to the shops,\u201d Ms Wilson said.
\n\u201cBy this time next year, the NSW Government will have phased out plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery and bowls, as well as cotton buds with plastic sticks and microbeads in personal care and cosmetic products.
\n\u201cOur goal is to reduce as much plastic waste as possible, while protecting the environment, sustainably managing resources and ensuring materials circulate in our economy for as long as possible.\u201d
\nThe NSW Government has established a legislative framework to tackle harmful and problematic plastics though the setting of design standards.
\nThe first design standard has been set for microbeads in cosmetic and personal care items, and will ensure microbeads are phased out from 1 November 2022.
\nThe legislation will\u00a0prohibit\u00a0the supply of\u00a0lightweight plastic bags from 1 June 2022. The supply of other items will be prohibited from 1 November 2022, including single-use plastic straws, cutlery, stirrers, cotton buds, plates and bowls, and expanded polystyrene foodservice items.
\nFor more information on the\u00a0Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021\u00a0<\/em>visit\u00a0http:\/\/www.dpie.nsw.gov.au\/plastics<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The end is near for single use plastics, including bags, straws, cotton buds, plates, bowls and cutlery, after the\u00a0Plastics and Circular Economy Act 2021\u00a0passed NSW Parliament today. Treasurer and Minister for Energy and Environment Matt Kean said plastic packaging and single-use plastics make up 60 per cent of litter across the state, with single-use plastics … Continue reading “Fork in the road for single-use plastics”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13868\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}