We're excited that central government is starting to phase-out unnecessary plastics in Aotearoa New Zealand under the Plastic and Related Products Regulations 2022.

These regulations will prohibit the sale and manufacture of some single-use and hard-to-recycle plastic items. The first phase (October 2022) is aimed at:

  • PVC food trays and containers (trays that are manufactured and sold separately to the food it packages)Image showing the types of plastic listed
  • Polystyrene takeaway food and drink packaging
  • Expanded polystyrene food and drink packaging
  • Plastics with pro-degradant additives (oxo- and photo-degradable plastics)
  • Single-use plastic drink stirrers
  • Plastic stemmed cotton buds

More information on the plastic phase-out can be found on the Ministry for the Environment's website.