South Australia becomes first state to ban single-use plastics
One state is set to become the first in Australia to officially ban single-use plastics.
Legislation to ban single-use plastics in South Australia passed parliament on Wednesday, the state’s premier Steven Marshall revealed.
“South Australia is once again leading the nation in making important decisions to protect our environment,” Mr Marshall shared to Facebook Wednesday evening.
He explained the legislation would initially ban plastic single-use items like straws, cutlery and beverage stirrers.
More items would be added to the banned list further down the track, Mr Marshall said.
The coronavirus pandemic has slowed the process of the legislation being actioned, meaning it would not come into force until early next year.
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Mr Marshall said the extra time would allow businesses the opportunity to “bounce back” from the COVID-19 outbreak before the ban came into action.
“We’re proud to be leading the way in taking action on single-use plastics,” he wrote.
Hundreds of people joined the premier in celebrating the news, describing it “fantastic” and “a positive step in the right direction for sustainability”.
“This is no brainer. Plenty of food outlets and festivals are already doing this with compostable items only and zero plastic. Well done,” one person wrote in a comment.
“Excellent. Protecting the environment and a better world for the future generations,” another said.
While most expressed their eager anticipation of the law being actioned, some said they would miss drinking out of plastic straws because paper ones became too “soggy”.
Others hoped there were better disposable cutlery options than wooden ones currently on the market.
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