Frequently asked questions about the Plastics Plan 2.0

NSW is facing a waste crisis. Recycling rates have stalled, resulting in millions of tonnes of waste being sent to landfills that are expected to reach capacity within the decade. Plastic waste is a part of this problem.

Just over 15.6% of the 935,800 tonnes of plastic waste generated in NSW in 2023-2024 was recycled. And in the same year, plastic items made up 74% of the littered items in our waterways.

Microplastics are now widespread in our environment, waterways and are increasingly being found in the human body. These contaminants are also entering recycling streams and impacting the safe and beneficial use of recycled products, such as compost derived from household organic waste.

The NSW Plastics Plan 2.0 sets out the actions the NSW Government will take between now and 2030 to: 

• reduce plastic litter in our environment, in support of our target to reduce all litter items by 60% by 2030
• protect human health, the environment, and recycling streams from the impacts of microplastics and harmful chemicals in plastics
• bring NSW into line with other states and territories and take a leading role where further, faster action is needed

The NSW Government has adopted a staged approach to the implementation of the NSW Plastics Plan 2.0. This will give businesses time to adjust to changes and prepare for future requirements.

NSW was one of the first states to take serious action against single-use plastics with its 2022 bans on lightweight plastic bags, single-use cutlery, straws and plates.

Under the new plan, NSW will lead the country in introducing recyclability requirements for certain takeaway food and beverage packaging, phasing out confectionary sticks and requiring plastic lids to be ‘tethered’ on certain plastic bottles by 2030.

NSW is also leading on requirements for food service businesses that provide takeaway beverages to accept a reusable cup from a customer (by 2028) and requiring these businesses to offer reusable cup options (from December 2030).

We’re aligning with South Australia with actions on plastic pizza savers and plastic balloon sticks and ties. We’re also requiring small condiment packages like soy sauce fish to be recyclable – ensuring that people don’t just switch to soft plastic sachets.

We’re also bringing NSW into line with other states with new rules banning the release of lighter than air (helium) balloons , and phasing out all plastic shopping bags (like SA, WA and ACT), plastic food bag tags (SA) and expanded plastic packaging (WA).

Yes, the NSW Government released an issues paper called NSW Plastics – Next Steps for public consultation in October 2023.

Over a 14-week consultation period, we received more than 4,700 responses and over 470 written submissions from a wide range of stakeholders including community members, industry, government and environmental organisations.

We also held workshops and had one-on-one conversations with environment groups and representatives from across the supply chain, including manufacturers, suppliers and retailers, and the waste and recycling sector.

Following this, we held a second round of consultation in September 2024 on the NSW Plastics: The Way Forward draft action plan which sought feedback on 29 proposed actions to address problematic plastic items. 

This second round of consultation resulted in more than 2,300 submissions and has informed the NSW Plastics Plan 2.0. You can read the draft action plan and consultation summary on the Your Say portal.

To build on the progress NSW has made following our first plastic bans in 2022, we will phase out other plastic items that are highly littered, pollute the environment, and contaminate recycling streams. These include items like heavyweight plastic shopping bags, plastic confectionary sticks, degradable plastics, and fruit and vegetable stickers. 

We are also banning lighter-than-air balloon releases, which can end up in our waterways and be lethal to our marine wildlife.

Other states and territories in Australia have phased out plastic items that are still allowed in NSW. These include expanded plastic packaging, and unnecessary plastic items like plastic pizza savers, plastic bread tags, and plastic balloon sticks and ties. 

We are acting on these items as well to make it easier and less costly for businesses and consumers to do the right thing,  while preventing NSW from becoming a dumping ground for harmful plastics that are regulated elsewhere.

We can reduce plastic waste in landfill and plastic litter in the environment by ensuring everyday items are valued by businesses and consumers, long after their first use.

Scaling-up reusable alternatives to single-use plastic items can help to not only reduce plastic pollution but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deliver other environmental benefits.

We are taking a nation-leading approach to reuse, introducing requirements for:

• takeaway food service businesses to accept reusable cups provided by the customer for takeaway beverages, and
• large takeaway food service businesses to also offer a reusable cup option to customers as part of a reuse system.

The definition of a large takeaway food service business will be consulted on before a new regulation is made under the Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy (PRCE) Act 2021.

This may include exemptions for small businesses. 

We understand that reusable cup systems involve upfront and ongoing operational costs for businesses. The NSW Government engaged with businesses of different sizes in preparing the actions to understand the extent of any impact on their operations. 

To reduce these costs and support businesses to transition to new reuse requirements, we will work closely with businesses and industry.

Under the plan, we will start by trialling reusable cup systems in Government premises and establishing a reuse precinct in the Sydney CBD. This will help to set up the reuse systems, infrastructure, and economies of scale needed before the requirements come into effect, opening the door for reuse to be scaled up across NSW.

The NSW Government will require single-serve condiment packages to be designed to be recyclable by the end of 2030. This means items such as soy sauce fish, which are currently too small to be recycled, will be phased out unless they are redesigned to be accepted in recycling systems.

While South Australia has banned soy sauce fish containers and other condiment containers outright, this is resulting in harder to recycle materials being used. South Australia has an increased use of soy sauce sachets made from soft plastic and other condiment packages which are just as hard to recycle and are still littered. We can avoid this outcome by requiring all single-serve condiment packages to be recyclable.

Single-serve condiment packages account for 3.3% of littered items found in our waterways. We can tackle this issue more effectively by acting on single-serve condiment packages as a whole, rather than just soy sauce fish.

Despite the successes of Return and Earn and the recent news that the state has met our 2025 plastic litter reduction target, beverage container lids still make up 5.3% of littered items in NSW. These small items pose a high risk to the marine environment and can be a choking hazard for many animals.

Tethered lids have been successful in Europe and are a simple and effective way to prevent this easily littered item from entering our environment by keeping the lid attached to the bottle while it is used.

The EPA will continue to work with industry, small businesses, manufacturers, and retailers as we implement the NSW Plastics Plan 2.0, including by providing guidance on phase-outs and other new requirements.

We have worked in transition timelines to ensure businesses have adequate time to exhaust their existing stock and stop buying items that will soon be banned.

NSW is prioritising increasing recyclability for items like cups and food containers, rather than composability. 

The NSW Government has been clear since 2022 that compostable plastic packaging, other than certified compostable kitchen caddy liners, is not permitted in organic waste bins. This is because these products often contain additives such as PFAS that may cause human health and environmental harm when they break into smaller pieces and are applied to land, where food is grown.

This is about protecting our recoverable organic waste from contamination. It’s especially important as NSW implements a state-wide mandate for the separate collection of food and garden organics (or FOGO) from certain business and institutions from July 2026 and households by July 2030.

NSW wants to ensure that only food organics and garden organics make their way into organics waste collection – rather than plastic containers which contaminate compost products.

The NSW Government’s position will not change until we can be certain that fibre-based and compostable plastic packaging do not contain chemicals that threaten the environment when applied to land as compost.

We recognise that certain states and territories are approaching plastic reform differently.

Environment Ministers approved a national harmonisation roadmap in December 2024 to set the principles for how states and territories will work together to harmonise their approaches as much as possible. States and territories are currently working on implementing a national harmonisation roadmap to look more closely at where these approaches can align.

The NSW Government has also carefully considered the position of other jurisdictions to inform our approach, but we have also listened to feedback from our stakeholders – including business, community and environmental groups, and the waste and recycling sector – about the steps NSW should take. 

The EPA will regulate new requirements under the Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy (PRCE) Act 2021. As new requirements are phased in, the EPA will focus on supporting businesses to switch to more sustainable alternatives through education. 

Stronger approaches such as warnings, notices and fines may be used where education has already been rolled out and in line with the EPA’s Regulatory Strategy and Policy.

The EPA adopts a proportionate, risk-based, and proactive approach to identify businesses that may have a high-risk of not complying and uses a range of tools – including online tools, regular site visits, and inspections - to help influence and encourage these business towards compliance.

Site visits and monitoring activities are planned proactively and in response to public and competitor reports of suspected non-compliance.

We understand there may be different circumstances for different businesses and people, and there is no ‘one size fits all’ response. We will consider relevant factors when deciding on the appropriate course of action, which may include any available evidence of whether a business or person has taken steps to prepare for the new requirements and any efforts made to comply.

The NSW Government will also consider exemptions to phase-outs and other actions set out in this plan, as appropriate.

Microplastics are widespread in the environment and are increasingly found in the human body. Evidence is growing indicating that they have detrimental impacts on ecosystems and human health as the chemicals in microplastics accumulate in tissues of plants and animals. They also pose challenges to the use of recycled materials such as biosolids, and compost derived from food and garden organic waste. 

The incorrect disposal of food and beverage packaging in green-lidded kerbside bins results in the contamination of compost made from household FOGO waste, preventing the safe application of this material to gardens, public parks, playgrounds, and agricultural land.

To reduce the risks posed by microplastics in the environment and in recycling streams, the NSW Plastics Plan 2.0 sets out actions to: 

• phase out the supply of plastics containing additives that promote their fragmentation into microplastics, such as oxo-, photo-, and landfill degradable plastics
• introduce a design standard for washing machines to reduce the release of microfibres from washing synthetic textiles
• phase out plastic microbeads from all cleaning products
• improve disposal behaviour through product labelling and accessible bin infrastructure
• identifying and prioritising chemicals of concern in food and beverage packaging items for intervention.