FoodLegal

By John Thisgaard (FoodLegal Co-Principal)

This article by the author also appears in the November 2024 edition of Australian Hotelier Magazine and considers the impacts for the hospitality industry of new bans on various plastic products.

Most Australian States and Territories have introduced bans on many single-use plastic items, in line with the Australian Packaging Covenant’s 2025 target to “phase out problematic and unnecessary single-use plastics packaging”.

Although this target has been endorsed by the Federal Labor Government, the approach is not uniform across all Australian jurisdictions. Some States and Territories have adopted their own legislation with differences on items and timelines for implementation.

Bans on some plastics impacting hospitality venues

Bans impacting hospitality venues are already in place in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia. The Northern Territory and Tasmania currently do not have equivalent bans in place, but aim to introduce similar laws in the coming years. The City of Hobart has also introduced similar bans for local businesses in Hobart.

The bans apply to items that are defined as single-use plastics in the legislation of each relevant State or Territory, and include items such as:

·        Plastic straws

·        Plastic cutlery and stirrers

·        Plastic plates and bowls (except bowls with spill-proof lids)

·        Cups and takeaway containers made of expanded polystyrene

Many States have plans to introduce additional bans on plastic-lined paper cups and plates before the end of 2025.

‘Plastic’ is defined broadly. In some jurisdictions such as NSW, the bans include items with any plastic content, even if the plastic is biodegradable or compostable.

Impact for hospitality venues

The bans are designed to apply to the manufacture, supply or sale of the plastic items themselves. To comply with these bans, many packaging suppliers have stopped supplying the above plastic items and have transitioned to alternative materials (e.g. paper, metal, bamboo, glass or ceramic).

In most cases, the bans will also apply to the use of single-use plastics to package takeaway foods. There are limited exemptions which differ State-by-State, including:

·        Where the product has been pre-packed off-site.

·        Where the plastic item is a form of ‘integrated packaging’ (although this is soon to change – see below).

·        The supply of plastic drinking straws to individuals who have a disability or medical requirement.

Incoming changes for ‘integrated’ plastics and commencement date

In most States and Territories, plastic items are not banned if they are ‘integrated’ as part of the product packaging through an automated (e.g. a straw attached to a juice box or cutlery attached to the lid of a yoghurt product). Although takeaway containers would generally not be regarded as a form of integrated packaging, this exemption could apply to some products offered by hospitality venues (especially if the venue sells pre-packed items).

However, some States are starting to remove the earlier exemption for integrated packaging, starting with NSW on 1 January 2025, followed by Victoria and Queensland soon after. This means that single-use plastics that have been ‘integrated’ into product packaging will no longer be able to be sold in these States.

What can businesses do to prepare?

Businesses should review their inventory for any items that contain integrated single-use plastics. If they have not already done so, businesses should also review whether they use any takeaway packaging materials (such as expanded polystyrene and other expanded plastics) or other plastic items such as straws that are banned in their State and work with their suppliers to secure an appropriate replacement.

If you have any regulatory needs or concerns about the impact of plastic bans of the compliance of your packaging products, please contact FoodLegal. We have the expertise and experience to help you.

This is general information rather than legal advice and is current as of 13 Nov 2024. We recommend you seek legal advice for your specific circumstances before making any commercial decisions.