Businesses are encouraged to ensure they will be compliant with the NSW Plastics Ban as previous exemptions end soon.

1. INTEGRATED PACKAGING

There are now less than 3 months to go until affected stakeholders will not be able to supply products that include banned single-use plastics integrated into their food and beverage packaging. A transition period was provided for these items when the plastic bans commenced on 1 November 2022 to allow industry time to change processes and run-down existing stock. This transition period will end on 31 December 2024.

Please remember that compostable plastic alternatives are not allowed in NSW, even if certified. None of our products are integrated. As part of our commitment to sustainability, we have discontinued single-use plastic cutlery and straws. Instead, we have introduced many new sustainable products, please refer to our Compliant ranges, below.

2. PLASTIC-LINED PLATES AND BOWLS

From 1 November 2024, you will not be able to supply paper plates or bowls that have a plastic lining or coating. This will include plastic-lined products like takeaway cardboard and bagasse bowls without lids and printed or coloured paper ‘party’ plates and bowls.

Please remember that alternatives lined with compostable plastic are not allowed in NSW, even if certified.

COMPLIANT RANGES

Please rest assured, at Castaway all our paper and sugarcane plates or bowls are uncoated/unlined – which means they are compliant.

INFORMATION / RESOURCES

There is a range of information about the NSW single-use plastic bans.

• For retailers, businesses, community organisations & not-for-profits: https://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/plastics-ban
• EPA’s regulatory role, including exemptions and enforcement of the Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021:
  https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/plastics
  https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/plastics/bans-guidance/packaged-food-and-drinks
  https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/plastics/exemptions/plastic-lined-paper-plates-bowls-guidance
• The NSW Plastics Action Plan:
  https://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/our-work/environment-energy-and-science/plastics-action-plan

Ready to start your sustainable journey or have questions? Contact us today!

Just fill out the contact form and one of our team members will get back to you.

At the national level, governments have made their expectations clear with the Environment Ministers Meeting listing eight priority plastic items to be phased out nationally by 2025, and the National Plastics Plan setting ambitious time frames for the phase-out of some items by 2022 to combat mounting plastic waste – Polystyrene foam (commonly used to packaging consumer goods) is one of them, and will be phased out in Australia by mid-2022.

There’s no single solution to plastic pollution. We need to do a better job at capturing plastic waste, and recycling it back into new high value goods. But we also need to reduce unnecessary plastic use – and that should include banning foam.

At Castaway, we have welcomed many aspects of the plan – which also includes beginning the phase-out of polystyrene food and beverage containers. Timelines have also been agreed across our supply chain since the targets were announced in 2018. We have a range of tools and resources to help businesses make the changes needed, and will continue to support local businesses to switch to alternative products whenever and wherever possible.

We embrace the Australian Packaging Covenant’s Sustainable Packaging Guidelines (SPG) and will formally adopt them when designing proprietary products for specific customers.

Most state governments in Australia have planned to implement a single-use plastic ban. This can get quite confusing at time.

So far, only Queensland and ACT have legislated bans on foam, while the City of Hobart’s bylaw banning some single-use plastics came into effect 1 July 2021. Other states and territories are set to follow.

Our team is well placed to help you navigate the ever-changing foodservice landscape. For more information, please get in touch with us.

In a time when things are so up and down, getting a little surprise in the mail can mean the world to someone else. Whether there’s a birthday on the horizon, or maybe you’ve notice a friend has been feeling a little down, a coffee gift pack might just be the pick-me-up they need. And hey, there’s no one saying you can’t send one to yourself, too!

We are proud of our coffee culture, the quality and standards that we have set for ourselves and the rest of the world recognises that.

Thankfully, along with quality beans, Australian-made packaging options in whatever sizes designed for your ideal preparation, storage, and transportation are always available to you – these are the cream to the crop.

CASTAWAY® WINDOW PLATTERSMade from sustainably sourced brown kraft paper, our Window Platters feature a snap-on, clear lid options – providing quality and style, and showcase your beautiful treats and gifts recipients will surely love!

COFFEE BAGSYou can now recreate the café experience from the comfort of your customer’s home or office with our range of coffee bags. Check out the range, the possibilities are endless when your customers are becoming their own barista.

Bags are individually packed and heat sealed to ensure ease of preparation, convenience and to keep your beans fresh between brews.

NEED SOME FOOD TO GO WITH THAT DELIVERY COFFEE?Check out our range of food packaging.

In a bid to tackle pollution and environmental damage, Queensland became the second state after South Australia to pass bans on single-use plastics.

During Queensland Government community consultation, 94% of survey respondents supported a ban on single-use plastic straws, cutlery and stirrers.

This plastics ban comes on the back of other state-wide initiatives already implemented to curtail plastic pollution such as its container refund scheme and the ban on the supply of lightweight, single-use plastic shopping bags.

10 March 2021
The Waste Reduction and Recycling (Plastic Items) Amendment Act 2021 was passed by the Queensland Parliament. The Act bans the sale or supply of single-use plastic items in Queensland, from 1 September 2021.

This ban is part of Queensland’s plan to tackle plastic pollution and follows strong support from the community, retailers and industry organisations.

Stage 1 – 1 September 2021
The legislation is due to come into effect on 1 September, 2021 and will prohibit the sale and/or supply of the following single-use plastic items.

Stage 2 – Date to be confirmed
Although no indicative date has been specified, the Queensland Government have expressed that a second phase of banning is under discussion. The products under consideration include: coffee and plastic cups, heavyweight plastic shopping bags and plastic balloon sticks.An exemption applies to plastic straws that form part of a product, and to cutlery that forms part of a product.

Examples:

• A straw attached to a juice box
• A fork included in a pre-packed salad
• A spoon attached to a yoghurt container

Additionally, the following businesses* are exempt and can continue to supply banned plastic items:

• Clinics or facilities that provide care to persons with a disability or health needs
• Hospitals
• Dental clinics
• Medical clinics
• Pharmacies
• Aged care facilities
• Medical suppliers
• Schools

* These specifications apply to Queensland and do not apply in all states.

These products will be phased out immediately, and penalties apply for failure to comply.

The Environment Protection Authority will enforce the legislation against single-use plastic products in Queensland.

To find out what penalties apply in Queensland, the full Bill is available here.

Businesses are encouraged to identify whether banned items still need to be provided to customers, and if so, what they can be replaced with.

The National Retail Association (NRA), a member of the Queensland Government’s Single-use Plastic Items Ban Stakeholder Advisory Group (SAG), has been appointed to work with businesses to ensure they understand the ban and what they must do to comply, as well as options to manage excess stock. For more information, call the National Retail Association Hotline on 1800 844 946 or visit their website.

We have a wide range of waste regulation compliant products for you to choose from. If you need assistance trying to navigate these changes and determine what you need, contact our team on (07) 3853 5800 or email enquiries@mpmmarketing.com.au.

Three states and territories have legislated bans on some single-use plastics and others are set to follow, while the City of Hobart’s bylaw banning some single use plastics comes into effect 1 July 2021.

South Australia’s was the first state to ban on single-use plastics. Legislation passed in 2020 with a staged ban commencing 1 March 2021, to be completed 1 March 2022. Products included in the ban:

• 1 March 2021: Plastic straws, stirrers and cutlery, as well as problematic bioplastic versions of these items.
• 1 March 2022: Expanded polystyrene (EPS) foodservice items (cups, bowls, plates and containers) and all oxo-degradable products

Sources:

• SA Government Replace the Waste website
• SA Government Single-use and Other Plastic Products (Waste Avoidance) Bill 2020

Hobart City Council was the first council to pass legislation to ban single-use plastics at takeaway food retailers in March 2020. The City now has a by-law that bans single-use plastics at takeaway food retailers, which is in place from 1 July 2021.

• 1 July 2021: All plastic single-use takeaway packaging. Compostable plastics
  that are certified home (AS 5810) and industrially (AS 4736) compostable to
  the Australian standards are exempt from the ban.

Sources:

• Hobart City Council Single-Use Plastics By-Law

Queensland passed legislation to ban a selection of single-use plastics on 11 March 2021, to be effective on 1 September 2021. Products included in the ban:

• 1 September 2021: Plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery, plates, bowls, expanded
  polystyrene (EPS) cups and containers. Compostable plastics that are certified
  home (AS 5810) and industrially (AS 4736) compostable to the Australian
  standards are exempt from the ban.

Sources:

• QLD Government Plastic Pollution Reduction Plan
• QLD Government Waste Reduction and Recycling (Plastic Items) Amendment Bill 2020

The NSW Government will gradually eliminate single-use plastics under a new Plastics Plan and Waste Strategy set to be legislated later this year.

• By 31 December 2021: Lightweight plastic bags
• By the end of 2022: Plastic straws, plastic stirrers, plastic cutlery, expanded polystyrene food service items, cotton buds with plastic sticks, microbeads in rinse-off personal care and cosmetic products

Sources:

• www.epa.nsw.gov.au/
• Cleaning Up Our Act: Redirecting the Future of Plastic
• New South Wales Plastics Action Plan 

Legislation expected to be passed in February 2022 with a single-use plastics ban introduced in 2023. Products proposed for the ban:

• February 2023: Plastic straws, cutlery, plates, drink stirrers, expanded polystyrene (EPS) food and drink containers, and plastic cotton bud sticks. Currently, there is no mention of compostable plastics.

Sources:

• Tackling plastic pollution – We’re banning problematic single-use plastics in Victoria

The West Australian Government has fast-tracked its Plan for Plastic. The new timeframe will see WA’s Plan for Plastic fully implemented by the end of 2022, four years earlier than originally planned. WA’s Plan for Plastics provides a roadmap towards a more sustainable, plastic-free WA by implementing
regulations to ban plastic items in a two-stage approach.

• Short-term actions – 2020-21: Plates, bowls, cups, cutlery, stirrers, straws, thick plastic bags, polystyrene food containers, helium balloon releases.
• Medium-term actions – 2021-22: Microbeads, coffee cups/lids, polystyrene cups, cotton buds with plastic shafts, barrier/ produce bags, polystyrene packaging, oxo-degradable plastic
• Complementary actions: Prepacked fruit and vegetables, plastic beverage containers, takeaway food and beverage containers, plastic packaging

Sources:

• www.wa.gov.au/
• Western Australia’s Plan for Plastics

The New Zealand Government has announced plan to ban some plastic products by July 2025. The three-stage plan to phase our hard-to-recycle plastic packaging will take place over the next four years.

• Stage 1: Late 2022: PVC meat trays, polystyrene takeaway packaging, EPS food and drink packaging, oxo-degradable plastics, plastic drink stirrers and plastic stemmed cotton buds
• Stage 2: Late 2022: Plastic produce bags, plastic plates, bowls and cutlery, plastic straws and plastic produce labels
• Stage 3: Mid 2025: All other PVC and polystyrene food and beverage packaging

Sources:

• www.environment.govt.nz/
• www.rnz.co.nz/

MPM Marketing services embraces the APC’s Sustainable Packaging Guidelines and will formally adopt them when designing proprietary products for specific customers as well as stock containers for use by all customers. During this design process, we seek to balance environmental objectives with market appeal, warehousing and distribution efficiencies.

MPM Marketing Services applies sustainable design principles in all of its product development activities. In line with the Sustainable Packaging Guidelines, Sustainability is embedded into the product development process at MPM Marketing and these guidelines are being applied to both new and existing items as part of our commitment to the Australian Packaging Covenant.