TODAY – More single-use items will be added to Australia’s banned plastics list as states move to further protect the environment.

The Government will unveil the five-year plan today – with mass balloon releases, plastic microbeads, polystyrene packing peanuts, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds to be banned from September 1, 2023.

Disposable coffee cups and lids are set to be banned in Queensland under a sweeping new strategy from the State Government to protect the environment from single-use plastics.

Earlier this week, WA introduced their own bans marking a world-first for some plastic items putting them alongside NSW’s six-step plan already underway.

The new road map comes after 91% of respondents to a government survey backed further bans on single-use plastics, which already apply to straws, cutlery, stirrers, plates and unenclosed bowls.

With the environment set to win big with these changes, packaging companies are gearing up to step up to the plate and help Australian business play their part, pushing the envelope by developing new eco-friendly options.