The single-use nature of many of plastics is contributing to a wasteful, take-make-dispose economy.

Governments are acting to ban single-use plastics and encourage non-plastic single-use alternatives that can be recovered, recycled or composted.

State Government actions are listed below.

Western Australia
On 13 June 2021, the State Government announced Western Australia’s Plan for Plastics. This follows previous action on plastic, including the introduction of a lightweight plastic bag ban in 2018 and a container deposit scheme in 2020.

The Plan for Plastics was released in response to community feedback and provides a roadmap towards a more sustainable, plastic-free WA.

The plan includes regulations to ban single-use plastic items in a two-stage approach. Stage 1 regulations are complete. Regulations for Stage 2 items took effect on 27 February 2023. Stage 2 items are in the process of being phased out, with different transition periods for compliance and enforcement, depending on the item.