Since 1 March 2021, the South Australian Government has been gradually phasing out the manufacture, sale, supply and distribution of certain single-use plastic products through the Single-use and Other Plastic Products (Waste Avoidance) Act 2020 (SA) and the Single-use and Other Plastic Products (Waste Avoidance) Regulations 2021 (SA).

The Act initially banned the sale and supply of single-use plastic drinking straws, cutlery and beverage stirrers [s 6]. Further bans were introduced from 1 March 2022, 1 September 2023 and 1 September 2024. Additional bans are scheduled to come into force on 1 September 2025. For more information about the different types of plastic products banned since 1 March 2021, visit the South Australian Government Replace the Waste website.

Application of the Act

Plastic is defined in the Act as a material made from, or comprising, organic polymers, whether plant extracts or of fossil fuel origin [s 3].

The Act does not apply to a container that is the subject of a beverage container approval under the Environment Protection Act 1993 (SA) [Single-use and Other Plastic Products (Waste Avoidance) Act 2020 (SA) s 4].

The South Australian Environment Protection Authority has produced a Single-use Plastics Guideline for assessing prohibited single-use plastic products under the Act.

Exemptions

The Act allows regulations to be made that exempt a person, or person of a class, or a product, or product of a class, from the operation of the Act [s 16].

The Single-use and Other Plastic Products (Waste Avoidance) Regulations 2021 (SA) currently permit the sale, supply and distribution of single-use plastic drinking straws to or for a person who needs a straw due to disability or for medical purposes.

The exemption allows:

A prescribed business means a pharmacy, local government office, charity, medical facility, dental facility, and care facility [reg 3].

A prescribed business may put single-use plastic drinking straws on public display or make them freely accessible [reg 6]. Single-use plastic drinking straws must not otherwise be on public display or freely accessible without the assistance of an employee of the business, but can be provided on request where a business chooses to maintain a supply for those with medical need [reg 5(1)(b)].

Proof of disability or medical need is not required to purchase or be supplied with a plastic straw for disability or medical need [regs 5(3), 6(2)].

For more information about current exemptions, including plastic spoons, visit the South Australian Government Replace the Waste website or read the Explanatory Information on the South Australian Government Green Industries SA website.

Offences

Sale, supply or distribution of prohibited plastic products

It is an offence to sell, supply or distribute a prohibited plastic product in the course of carrying on a business [s 7(1)].

The maximum penalty is $20,000 for a prescribed person (with an expiation fee of $1,000), or $5,000 for anyone else (with an expiation fee of $315).

A business includes an enterprise, association, organisation or other body, regardless of whether its activities are of a commercial, charitable, sporting, educational or community nature. The regulations may include or exclude certain businesses or classes of business [s 7(3)].

A prescribed person means [s 7(7)]:

The offence applies whether or not a fee is charged for the supply or distribution of the prohibited plastic product. It also applies even if the sale, supply or distribution of the prohibited plastic product is incidental to the sale, supply or distribution of other products [s 7(4)].

It is not an offence for a manufacturer or distributor to sell, supply or distribute a prohibited plastic product to a person outside of South Australia [s 7(2)].

It is a defence to a charge of an offence against s 7 if the person is not a prescribed person and proves that they believed on reasonable grounds that the product was not a prohibited plastic product [s 7(3)].

Representation that a product is not prohibited

It is an offence to sell, supply or distribute a prohibited plastic product having represented before or during the sale, supply or distribution, that the product is not a prohibited plastic product [s 8]. The maximum penalty is $20,000 (with an expiation fee of $1,000).

Manufacture or production of oxo-degradable plastic products

It is an offence to manufacture or produce a product comprised, in whole or in part, of oxo-degradable plastic in the course of carrying on a business [s 9]. The maximum penalty is $20,000 (with an expiation fee of $1,000).

Sell, supply or distribute oxo-degradable plastic products in course of carrying on a business

It is an offence for a person to sell, supply or distribute a product comprised, in whole or in part, of oxo-degradable plastic in the course of carrying on a business [s 10(1)]. The maximum penalty for a prescribed person is $20,000 (with an expiation fee of $1,000) and $5,000 for anyone else (with an expiation fee of $315).

A business includes an enterprise, association, organisation or other body regardless of whether the activities it carries on are of a commercial, charitable, sporting, educational or community nature. The regulations may include or exclude certain businesses or classes of business [s 10(5)].

A prescribed person, in relation to a product comprised, in whole or in part, of oxo-degradable plastic, means a person who is a manufacturer or producer of the product, or who sells, supplies or distributes the product in the course of carrying on a business as a wholesaler or distributor [s 10(6)].

It is a defence to a charge of an offence under s 10(1) if the person is not a prescribed person and proves that they believed on reasonable grounds that the product was not comprised, in whole or in part, of oxo-degradable plastic [s 10(2)].

Section 10 applies whether or not a fee is charged for the supply or distribution of the product. It also applies even if the sale, supply or distribution of the product is incidental to the sale, supply or distribution of other products [s 10(3)].

Manufacturer's or producer's certification as to oxo-degradable plastic content of plastic products

A person who, in the course of carrying on a business, manufactures or produces a plastic product, must, at the written request of an authorised officer, provide certification in accordance with s 11 as to whether or not the product contains oxo-degradable plastic, unless the person has a reasonable excuse for not doing so [s 11(1)]. The maximum penalty for breaching this is $20,000.

A person who, in the course of carrying on a business, distributes a plastic product or sells or supplies a plastic product by wholesale, must, at the written request of an authorised officer, provide, in accordance with s 11, certification of the manufacturer or producer of the product as to whether or not the product contains oxo-degradable plastic, unless the person has a reasonable excuse for not doing so [s 11(2)]. The maximum penalty for breaching this is $20,000.

Certification must be in the manner and form, and contain the information, determined by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), and be provided to the EPA within 30 days of the request.

Representation that product is not comprised of oxo-degradable plastic

It is an offence to sell, supply or distribute a product that is comprised, in whole or in part, of oxo-degradable plastic, having represented before or during the sale, supply or distribution that it was not such a product. The seller, supplier or distributor must have known or ought reasonably to have known or suspected that it was such a product [s 12]. The maximum penalty is $30,000.

More detailed information can be found on the South Australian Government Replace the Waste website.

Support for affected businesses is available on the Replace the Waste website or by calling Green Industries SA on (08) 8204 2051.