108 | Plastic stemmed cotton buds Includes: Plastic stemmed cotton buds made of all plastic types including degradable, biodegradable, and compostable plastics. Excludes: Cotton buds/ swabs used as a medical device, for diagnosis or sampling in vet clinics, food labs, scientific labs, or other scientific or medical sampling outside a lab More bans in 2023 and 2025 The bans this year will be followed by additional regulations in 2023 and 2025. Plastic produce bags, plates, bowls, cutlery, straws and non-compostable produce labels are in scope for 2023. All remaining PVC and PS food and beverage packaging are in scope for 2025. Need some help? It can be daunting dealing with changes to your products and packaging. If you need help working through your investigation into the best options to replace banned items, please get in touch. Plastics New Zealand’s circular economy initiatives Re:Plastics and CircularConnect can help. These are supported by the Waste Minimisation Fund administered by the Ministry for the Environment, and help businesses improve the circularity of their plastic packaging and products. We won’t push you towards plastic-only options. The best solution is the one that works for your business and the environment. If you’d like to upskill and define your own pathway, Re:Plastics provides a free design guide and subsidised workshops. CircularConnect provides co-funding to allow businesses to work with external consultants on qualifying projects. We look forward to hearing from you! October plastic bans – Are you ready? Rachel Barker CEO, Plastics NZ On the 1st of October a range of single-use plastic items will become illegal to manufacture, sell or give away for free with a sale. A lot of businesses are unaware and unprepared for these changes. Is yours one of them? While plastics are a valuable resource, enabling much of our technology and quality of life, they’re also one of our greatest environmental challenges due to end-of-life mismanagement. The new regulations act to remove some dicult-to-recycle and frequently littered items. This will reduce the impacts on our moana and whenua and help make our recycling systems more ecient. So, what’s banned for 2022? Some of it’s not straight-forward, so let’s look at each item in detail. Rigid PVC food trays and containers Includes: Pre-formed trays and containers used for meat (including substitutes), produce or baked goods. Typically, a business will have a stock of these items on hand for packaging of goods. PVdC is also covered by the ban. This means preformed multi-material trays with a PVdC layer are also included. Excludes: Form-fill-seal trays, where the packaging is formed, filled with food and sealed on the same line (think butter and sauce sachets, branded sliced meats). PVC will be banned for these applications in mid-2025. Polystyrene takeaway packaging Includes: Rigid polystyrene (PS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS or XPS) packaging used for food & beverages for immediate consumption. For example, sushi trays, foamed clamshells, takeaway cups, single-use catering serve-ware. Plastics containing prodegradants No idea what these are? You’re not alone! These are traditional plastics, like polyethene, to which an additive has been added to speed up degradation. When exposed to the right conditions they break into smaller and smaller pieces. They are not considered recyclable in New Zealand and are a microplastic risk if composted or leaked into the environment. Includes: Oxo- and photo-degradable plastics, and all other traditional plastics with a prodegradant additive. Includes: EPS/XPS used to package retail products such as those sold in supermarkets. For example, instant noodles, meat trays, foamed cup multi-packs. Excludes: Rigid PS used to package retail products (such as yoghurt sixpacks, sour cream pottles). PS form-fill-seal packaging used in takeaway situations such as a fast-food restaurant. These are included in the mid-2025 bans. Rigid PS drink lids. These will be handled alongside single-use beverage cups. EPS bins used for cold-chain, wholesale transport (such as for seafood or kiwifruit). May include: Landfill and anaerobically ‘biodegradable’ plastics. The Ministry for the Environment will provide further guidance on these soon. Excludes: Genuinely compostable plastics (recognised certification preferred) Plastic drink stirrers Includes: Sticks intended for stirring drinks made from, or containing, any type of plastic including degradable, biodegradable, and compostable plastics. There are no exclusions from this ban.
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