Green Industries report calls for single-use plastics ban

With the release of Green Industries SA’s (GISA) latest public consultation report which shows businesses, industry groups and householders want to phase out a range of single-use plastic products.

The new report - Turning the Tide – calls for single-use plastic products including cups, food containers, bowls and plates to be the next items to be phased out.

Easily replaced items like plastic stemmed cotton buds and confetti will be phased out sooner rather than later, with items like single-use plastic beverage containers and lids requiring further consultation on how quickly phase out can occur.

Last week, Queensland announced it would ban a range of products including plastic microbeads, polystyrene packing peanuts and plastic-stemmed cotton buds by 1 September 2023.

Earlier this week, Environment Minister Susan Close released the GISA report to mark Plastic Free July at Let Them Eat in James Place. The popular vegetarian café is the 42nd Adelaide business to be accredited by GISA and Plastic Free SA as a Plastic Free SA Champion.

Since starting in 2019, the Plastic Free SA program has helped SA businesses remove more than five million single-use plastic items, including more than 1.5million single-use coffee cups.

The complete list of responses and feedback to government is available at Replace The Waste and Green Industries.