When Policy Works: Polystyrene Bans in Australia and Worldwide

Polystyrene microfoam emerged as the most common type of micoplastic found in Seabin catches in 2024 (this figure is derived from analysis of 13% of all Seabin catches in 2024 and extrapolated).

But the year is 2025, the year by which the Federal Government said it would have phased out ‘problematic and unnecessary waste’, in an ambitious plan mirrored by many governments worldwide.

Why aren’t we seeing government bans on EPS flow immediately into real-life ocean data? Let’s unpack this riddle from its Styrofoam box and packing peanuts.

First, what exactly is polysterene?

You might recognise expanded polystyrene (EPS) as the brand Styrofoam: white, light, and squeaky stuff. This material is remarkable. Not only is it lightweight and soft, it is also rigid, shock-absorbing and heat insulating. This is why it is used in everything from insulating walls in homes, to transporting kitchen sinks, to serving fish and chips at the beach. On the down side, EPS is 98% air. This is why the EPA calls it one of NSW’s most poorly recycled plastics: it is bulky and stubborn, and even if there is space after that, it is not allowed in curbside home recycling bins! (if you want to learn where to recycle read our blog post HERE)

Why is it used in Australia?

About 70% of our EPS is used in construction because it is a flame retardant, rot-proof, and a mighty cheap insulator that should last 100 years (according to suppliers). The other 30% is used for packaging white goods such as washing machines, fresh fish, and other produce (Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, 2020).

This is our second clue. This 70/30 split suggests that the microfoam making its way to our waterways is likely to be coming from construction and marine industries, and not necessarily from the average consumer. For example, at building sites, foam blocks are sawn to fit inside walls, creating foam particulate “snow” that can blow away. A project by students at the University of Toronto found that of all foam litter they found in Lake Ontario, over 50% was coming from construction sites (PortsToronto, 2025). Similarly, floating docs in our harbours are often made of EPS, which break apart and leach chemicals into the water.

How is Australia’s policy?

In 2021, Australian Environment Ministers and the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation agreed to phase out single-use plastics by 2025. The graphic below by the Australian Marine Conservation Society shows the progress of these efforts as of September 2024. As you can see, there a lot of promising green ticks across all states for the EPS categories.

Remember that from the 70/30 split between uses of EPS, this National Plastics Plan by The Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment (2021) covers EPS uses from the 30% referred to earlier. It does not apply to business-to-business packaging, such as fresh produce boxes, nor in building and construction. Our third clue.

Further, some industries are saying EPS simply cannot be replaced in some cases. For example, the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) says there is no viable alternative to EPS for heavy products like white goods (e.g. fridges, ceramic sinks).

How is the rest of the world going?

There has been a wave of success on the legislative front across the planet. In 2019, European Parliament voted 560 to 35 on the ban of all food and beverage containers made from expanded polystyrene throughout the European Union. Add Belize, Scotland, and a half-dozen island nations, including the Seychelles, Antigua and Barbuda to that list. In the US, least 12 U.S. states and cities such as California and New York City have passed legislation to illegalise polystyrene foam to varying degrees. Typically, legislation is designed to firstly capture low hanging fruit – cups, trays, packing peanuts – then to expand into more and more categories over time.

In 2010, Zimbabwe’s then-new Environmental Management Agency looked at high-priority environmental issues, and it identified polystyrene takeout containers. Zimbabwe made its first legislative attempt to ban EPS products in 2016 and was eventually successful in 2024.

In the United Arab Emirates, the municipal government of Dubai announced a ban affecting polystyrene in food containers from 2026 onwards; Canada made similar bans to Australia in

2022 following the advice of scientific researchers it commissioned itself; and in the Philippines, the House of Representatives unanimously voted for ‘House Bill 9147’ to phase out single use plastics over 4 years, naming EPS explicitly.

Solving the riddle

So now we can bring our clues together and tackle the riddle, “why aren’t we seeing government bans on EPS flow immediately into real-life ocean data?” As we have discussed, the bans in place only cover a small portion of the use-cases of EPS: the most visibly polluting, single-use types. There are still many sources of EPS pollution.

In an earlier blog post, we investigated Australia’s position as world #1 in single-use plastic waste per capita (LINK). It is important to remember that the ultimate consumer of a product is not solely responsible for consuming these convenient, yet damaging products: unavoidably, government and businesses are the fulcrum in the lever of change.

These single-use plastics policies introduced in Australia and overseas are effective in making businesses change their ways. Everyone from importers to retailers have been hurrying to meet the 2025 deadline and find alternative products that fit within the legislation.

So policy has not stopped microfoams from reaching our waterways and filling Seabin’s catches at a higher rate than any other type of plastic… but it is a big step in the right direction.

More to come.

References

Australian Marine Conservation Society. (2024). Unwrapped 2024: Audit of plastic use in Australian supermarkets. https://www.marineconservation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AMCS-2024-Supermarkets-plastics-REPORT.pdf

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. (2020, November 4). National waste report 2020. https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/env/pages/5a160ae2-d3a9-480e-9344-4eac42ef9001/files/national-waste-report-2020.pdf

PortsToronto. (2025, March 10). Trash Trapping Program rids Toronto Harbour of 100,000+ small pieces of plastic in 2024. https://www.portstoronto.com/media-room/news/trash-trapping-program-rids-toronto-harbour-of-100000-small-pieces-of-plastic-in-2024/

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