SA’s single-use plastic ban to extend to polystyrene containers and oxo-degradable products from March 2022

More than 95 per cent of people who gave their opinions on the state’s single-use plastics ban say the disposable cutlery crackdown hasn’t gone far enough.

South Australians overwhelmingly support bans on single-use plastics and want to go further, the state government says.

Preliminary results from public consultation that closed last Saturday showed more than 95 per cent of the 2500-plus respondents want more items banned, most notably single-use plastic confetti, cups, bowls and bags.

On Tuesday March 1 it will be a year since SA became the first Australian state to ban plastic drinking straws, stirrers and cutlery from sale, supply or distribution. That meant an estimated 240 million plastic straws were removed from distribution, which is enough to go end-to-end from Adelaide to London and back.

The next round of items to be banned from Tuesday include polystyrene ‘clamshell’ containers and oxo-degradable products that disintegrate but don’t actually decompose.

The discussion paper “Turning the Tide: The Future of Single-Use Plastic in South Australia” released in December identified items “for consideration” in the next wave of bans including plastic bags, cups, lids on single-use cups, food containers, bowls, plates, balloon sticks / ties and plastic-stemmed cotton buds.

Other items for consideration included fruit stickers, plastic confetti, pizza savers, soy-sauce fish, beverage plugs, bread tags, expanded polystyrene (EPS) food and beverage containers, EPS meat or fruit trays and other packaging materials.

Environment Minister David Speirs said the discussion paper would help inform government on what to ban next, but the final results would not be presented until after the election.

“I am proud to have led South Australia to become the first state in the country to ban single-use plastics,” he said.

“The South Australian public, businesses and industry have embraced these changes, quickly adapting and adjusting to alternatives but we have always said we want to bring them along for the journey.”

He said it was disappointing that so many political parties and candidates were still putting up corflute posters ahead of the election.

“I have been inundated with messages of support for my choice to not use corflute posters in a clear sign people no longer think they are a necessary part of our democracy, are not easily recycled, bad for the environment and put simply – visual pollution,” Mr Speirs said.

The state government tried to ban corflute posters on public property but that was blocked in parliament.

Olivia Tran with food served in cardboard packaging and Recyclable cups at Seven Grounds, Brompton. Picture: Michael Marschall

Sydney-based Clean Up Australia Day chairwoman Pip Kiernan congratulated South Australia on “great progress” to date, but said there was more work to be done.

While her most recent rubbish report reflects litter collected in March last year, just days after the statewide ban was introduced, SA was “above the national average for soft plastics”.

Cigarette butts remained the number one item collected but represented a small proportion by weight.

This year, Clean Up Australia wants to quantify the proportion of masks and other PPE in litter.

Clean Up volunteers are encouraged to register online at cleanup.org.au for the event on Sunday March 6, or make a donation to support the effort.

The Schools Clean Up Day is on Friday and the Business Clean Up Day is on Tuesday.

Volunteers will be provided with online access to record the number of masks they collect on a national database.