Australian state to become first place in world to ban soy sauce fish-shaped containers

South Australia will become the first place in the world to ban soy sauce fish-shaped containers as part of a wider cutdown on single-use plastic.

From 1 September, the small dispensers often included in takeaway sushi meals will be phased out in the state.

The move is part of an update to previous environmental legislation from September 2023 that banned supermarket carrier bags, plastic straws, cutlery, drinks stirrers, cotton buds, and confetti, among other things.

The latest move will also cover non-compostable fruit and vegetable stickers and prepackaged cups and bowls for takeaway meals.

Fish-shaped sauce containers were invented in Japan in the 1950s and were first made of glass or ceramics before they were plastic.

According to experts, shoyu-tai, or soy sauce snappers, are often too small to be processed by recycling sorting machinery and often end up in landfill instead.

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A ban on single-use plastic plates and cutlery and certain types of polystyrene cups and containers has been in force in England since October 2023.

The government claims the legislation, which also introduced charges for plastic carrier bags, resulted in a drop in sales of 97%.

There have been similar moves in Scotland and Wales.