Plastic bag ban in NSW from June 1; takeaway

Takeaway owners say the move to ban single-use plastic bags will be sweet and sour, admitting it’s going to be ‘annoying’ even though they’re happy to support the major environmental reform.

The NSW government from June 1 will ban plastic bags meaning local takeaway shops will need to switch to paper, biodegradable alternatives or encourage customers to bring their own.

Steep fines of $250,000 are in place for businesses that fail to follow the rules and continue to distribute plastic bags

The change will also be followed by a raft of other bans on plastic items from November 1, including takeaway containers, cutlery, straws and stirrers.

May, who serves up freshly-made cream puffs at Chinatown’s famous Emperor’s Garden Restaurant in Sydney (pictured) said they would find a way to adjust to the new rules

The New South Wales government from June 1 will ban plastic bags meaning local takeaway shops will need to switch to paper, biodegradable alternatives or encourage customers to bring their own. Pictured: A customer leaves with a plastic bag from Emperor’s Garden Restaurant

‘It’s good for the environment but it is going to be a little bit annoying for us,’ Yui, who works at the Japanese Noodle shop Gumshara in Sydney’s Haymarket, told Daily Mail Australia.

She said staff are ‘not quite ready’ to make the switch and will need to figure out this week what alternative bags they will hand out.

Fortunately for the restaurant, the ban on plastic containers at the end of the year will not include plastic bowls with spill-proof lids.

‘We serve a lot of soup and noodles so if we have to use a paper container that would be hard,’ she said.

‘Noodles stick to paper containers. And it is hard to secure soup in a paper container.’

Nearby, At Thai Cuisine worker Chris says they’ve come up with a solution to the bag problem.

Asian restaurants say the move to ban single-use plastic bags for takeaways will be sweet and sour, admitting it will be ‘annoying’ even though they are happy to support the environmental reform. Pictured: 

At Thai Cuisine worker Chris says the business will now turn to bags made out of corn

‘It is very annoying to change but we can do it differently,’ he said. ‘We have a supplier that makes plastic (style) bags out of corn. Much better for the environment.

Meanwhile, May, who serves up freshly-made cream puffs at Chinatown’s famous Emperor’s Garden Restaurant said they would find a way to adjust if it helps keep plastics out of the ocean and landfill. 

‘It’s okay,’ she said. ‘We can follow the rules if it’s good for the environment’.

Supermarkets ditched single use plastic bags in 2018 but smaller businesses were not required by law to follow suit.

Minister for Environment James Griffin says now is the right to legislate the change, with the restriction set to prevent almost 2.7 billion items of plastic litter from entering the environment in NSW over the next 20 years.

Yui, who works at the Japanese Noodle shop Gumshara in Sydney’s Haymarket (pictured right holding up plastic containers), told Daily Mail Australia: ‘It’s good for the environment but it is going to be a little bit annoying for us’

At couple outside the Chinatown’s famous Emperor’s Garden Restaurant in Sydney enjoy cream puffs in a plastic container

‘Single-use plastic is used by many of us for just a few convenient minutes, but it remains in our environment for many years, eventually breaking into microplastics,’ he said.

‘By stopping the supply of problematic plastic in the first place, we’re helping prevent it from entering our environment as litter, or going into landfill.

‘We each have the power to make positive environmental change at an individual level, and I encourage everyone to choose to go plastic-free as often as they can.’

The National Retail Association is now working with the NSW government to ensure that more than 40,000 small businesses across the state can manage the changes.

‘Through the NRA, we’re running a retailer education campaign, conducting store visits, and providing online webinars and resources to help businesses make the adjustment away from single-use plastics,” Minister for Small Business Eleni Petinos said.