Beat plastic pollution
Since plastic was introduced 70 years ago, it has become part of our everyday life. While plastic is a versatile material that can play an important role in some products, we know that unnecessary or problematic plastic items can have disastrous impacts on our environment and wildlife.
In 2022, we introduced the first plastic item bans to stop the supply of lightweight plastic bags and other plastic single-use items including cotton buds, straws, bowls (without lids), plates, stirrers and cutlery, along with expanded polystyrene food service items and microbeads in certain rinse-off personal care products.
However, there is more to do if we want to beat plastic pollution. We're considering whether future bans or design standards are needed for a range of additional plastic items.
Have a look at some of these common single-use plastic items and learn more about their environmental impact.
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Research sources
- Single-use cups usage: Australian Plastics Flows and Fates Study 2020-21 – National Report
- Plastic bags: Single-use plastic bags and their alternatives: Recommendations from Life Cycle Assessments
- Microbeads: What are microbeads?
- Microplastics: 14 million tonnes of plastics on seafloor
- Key littered items study