WELLINGTON: The iconic plastic soy sauce bottles shaped like fish, beloved by sushi takeaway eaters worldwide, are now banned in South Australia under new laws to curb plastic waste.
The state of 1.9 million residents, which has long been at the forefront of Australia’s anti-plastic initiatives, officially prohibited restaurants from offering the decorative mini-bottles from Monday. The move forms part of the country’s most comprehensive plastic reduction programme, with South Australia annually expanding its list of banned items.
Why Target the Fish Bottles?
Though the ban might seem unusually specific, authorities said the tiny receptacles posed outsized environmental risks.
“These bottles are easily dropped, blown away, or washed into drains,” South Australia Deputy Premier Susan Close said in a statement. Even when disposed of correctly, she noted, they are “too small to be captured by sorting machinery and often end up in landfill or as fugitive plastic in the environment.”
Officials also warned that once in the ocean, the fish-shaped bottles could be mistaken for food by marine life.
Alternatives for Restaurants
Under the new rules, restaurants must switch to larger refillable condiment containers or use less harmful single-use alternatives such as sachets, squeezable packs, or compostable vessels.
The ban specifically covers fish-shaped or rectangular containers under 30 millilitres (1 ounce), including those with lids, caps, or stoppers.
Other items also banned from Sept 1 include plastic cutlery and straws attached to food packaging, such as those connected to juice boxes.
Part of a Long-Standing Strategy
South Australia was the first state to ban single-use plastic bags back in 2009. Since then, restrictions have expanded to cover plastic cutlery, straws, takeaway packaging, single-use coffee cups, balloon sticks, confetti, and Q-Tips.
Enforcement falls under the Environment Protection Authority, with penalties ranging from warnings to prosecution for breaches.
Next on the state’s plastic elimination list are produce stickers, such as those on apples, though this measure was postponed after producers warned of higher costs and supply chain disruptions.
A Global Problem
South Australia’s latest move comes as plastic bans proliferate globally. In 2023, New Zealand banned thin produce bags nationwide, while Lagos, Nigeria, launched a prohibition on single-use plastics earlier this year, though with mixed enforcement results.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the world now discards the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks of plastic waste daily into oceans, rivers, and lakes. Roughly 85% of single-use plastics, including bottles, containers, and packaging, end up in landfills or are mismanaged, with very little recycled.
Talks for a binding global plastic pollution treaty collapsed in August, with oil-producing nations opposing limits on plastic production, given its reliance on fossil fuels.
