'Let's Stop it and Swap it' promotional resources
‘Let’s Stop it and Swap it’ is the NSW’s Government’s advertising campaign to raise awareness about the ban of certain single-use plastics from 1 November 2022.
A range of resources have been developed and are available for you to use individually, within your workplace or community organisation.
You can tailor these resources to suit your needs.
Key facts about the NSW Government single-use plastics ban
- From 1 November 2022 bans apply in NSW to single-use plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery, plates, bowls (without lids) and cotton buds, expanded polystyrene foodware and cups, and rinse-off personal care products containing plastic microbeads.
- The bans follow the Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021 passed in November 2021.
- The bans apply even if the banned items are made from biodegradable plastic, compostable plastic, or bio-plastics.
- In NSW, single-use plastic items and packaging make up 60% of all litter.
- Around 575 million plastic items were littered in NSW in 2019. Much of these were single-use items, such as plastic bags, straws and cutlery.
- Over time, these items break into smaller pieces of plastic. They can be ingested by wildlife, killing or injuring them, and can enter the human food chain.
- Plastics never completely degrade. Over years, they break into tiny pieces called microplastics. Microplastics are the multi-coloured pieces of plastic that can be found in the environment (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
- The phase out of single-use plastic items will help prevent an estimated 2.7 billion items of plastic litter from entering our natural environment and waterways over the next 20 years.
- The items selected are littered at approximately 20 times the rate of other plastics.
- Approximately 40% of these littered items end up in marine environments and waterways.
- Of the 16,000 submissions the Government received when consulting on the future bans of plastics in NSW, 98% supported phasing out single-use plastics.
- The NSW Government has engaged the National Retail Association (NRA) to deliver an extensive education and engagement program for 40,000 businesses in 650 retail precincts across the State, to assist retailers, suppliers, community groups and not-for-profit organisations phase out single-use plastics. A toll-free hotline is also available for businesses, suppliers and community organisations to seek advice from the NRA on their unique situation. The hotline number is 1800 844 946 (9am to 5pm AEST weekdays).
- Businesses and community organisations can access resources to help understand the bans.
- The NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 and the NSW Plastics Action Plan are backed by a $356 million investment over 5 years (from 1 July 2022). This investment includes new programs and initiatives that minimise waste, values our resources, decarbonises our economy and kickstarts the transition to a circular economy. Find out more and apply.
- The phasing out of certain single-use plastics is part of the NSW Plastics Action Plan, which sets out actions to better manage plastics and reduce their impact on the environment throughout their lifecycle – from production and consumption through to disposal, recovery and recycling.
Downloadable resources
Download
Download toolkit samples:
Newsletter content – consumers, businesses, education providers and community organisations
Get ready to ‘Stop it and Swap it’ on single-use plastics from 1 November
November 1 is here so it’s time to get out your alternatives to single-use plastic items, including:
- straws, stirrers, cutlery, plates, bowls and cotton buds
- expanded polystyrene foodware (including cups)
- rinse-off personal care products containing plastic microbeads. The ban applies even if these items are made from single-use biodegradable plastic, compostable plastic, or bio-plastics.
This follows a ban on lightweight plastic bags in June this year.
These bans are a big win for our environment and it’s everyone’s responsibility to ‘Stop it and Swap it’.
Single-use plastic items and packaging make up 60% of all litter in NSW. By ending the use of many single-use items we’ll stop an estimated 2.7 billion plastic items from polluting our lands and waterways over the next 20 years.
For ideas, resources and tips on how to prepare for the ban visit our website.
Find out more
We encourage you to review the website resources, download signage and attend an information session with the National Retail Association (NRA). Information sessions are every Friday at 10AM until the end of November 2022.
For further enquiries about the plastics ban, please contact the EPA at plastics@epa.nsw.gov.au
Tweets, Facebook, Instagram
Tweets
Suggested Bitly link: Tweets use the following suggested Bitly link: http://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/plastics-ban = https://bit.ly/3SzuuHZ
Suggested hashtags: #singleuseplasticban #stopitandswapit
From 1 Nov 2022
Post 1:
From today, the supply of certain single-use plastics like straws, stirrers, plates, bowls and expanded polystyrene foodware is banned in NSW. We’re taking action to Stop it and Swap it to help protect our environment. Thanks for doing your bit! https://bit.ly/3SzuuHZ
Post 2:
Happy Stop it and Swap it day! Thanks for using your reusables and alternatives from today and helping to reduce single-use plastic litter such as cutlery, straws, plates and bowls from ending up in our NSW environment. https://bit.ly/3SzuuHZ
Facebook, Instagram
From 1 Nov 2022
Post 1:
From today, the supply of certain single-use plastics like straws, stirrers, plates, bowls and expanded polystyrene foodware is banned in NSW. We’re taking action to ‘Stop it and Swap it’ to help protect our environment. For more information visit: http://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/plastics-ban
Post 2:
Businesses, schools, hospitals and community groups have all made the change to ‘Stop it and Swap it’ away from certain single-use plastics. This has only been made possible by everyone’s contribution and commitment. This is a great milestone achievement for NSW and our environment. For more information visit: http://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/plastics-ban
Available in the Google Drive below are Stop it and Swap it advertising assets you can use on your social media channels, website or within newsletter content when talking about the single-use plastics ban. Samples of these are included below.
Google Drive: Stop it and Swap it creative assets
Print/Out of home
Print Stop it and Swap it 1.JPG
Print Stop it and Swap it 2.JPG
Video
Video_15 Sec Stop it and Swap it.mov
(15 sec and 6 sec versions)
Social media
Social Stop it and Swap it_1080x1920.JPG
Social Stop it and Swap it_1280x1280.JPG
There's a selection of images you can use on your social media channels, website or within newsletter content when talking about the single-use plastics ban.
Google Drive: Banned and alternative single-use plastic items
To download directly, right-click on the image and select 'Save as...'
Infographic: banned items
Infographic: not banned
Banned items
Plastic single-use cutlery
Plastic single-use straws
Plastic single-use stirrers
Plastic single-use plates
Plastic single-use bowls and expanded polystyrene bowls
Expanded polystyrene foodware
Expanded polystyrene cups
Expanded polystyrene clamshell containers
Expanded polystyrene plates
Plastic cotton buds
Plastic microbeads in certain rinse-off personal hygiene products
Alternatives to banned items
Cutlery – bamboo/wood, reusable plastic and metal
Straws – paper, metal, bamboo, glass, cardboard and silicone
Stirrers – wood
Plates – bamboo/wood, ceramic, cardboard/paper and reusable plastic
Bowls – wood, ceramic, cardboard, metal, enamel and reusable plastic
Expanded polystyrene foodware – cardboard and paper
Cups – cardboard, ceramic, steel, glass and enamel
Clamshells – cardboard and paper