PLASTIC FANTASTIC
Farewell to our fishy friends
— By Andru Shively —
The iconic soy sauce fish has gone extinct in South Australia. With effect from 1 September, the Australian state has now banned these single-use plastic containers commonly included in sushi takeaways.
The iconic soy sauce fish has gone extinct in South Australia. With effect from 1 September, the Australian state has now banned these single-use plastic containers commonly included in sushi takeaways.
 Taken away from your takeaway as of 1 September (Photo: Green Industries/Government of South Australia) |
Known as shoyu-tai in their homeland Japan, they have likewise become ubiquitous in Australia and New Zealand and can often be found in supermarkets or Asian groceries in the UK and Europe.
Typically made from polyethylene, the containers, while cute and convenient, often go unrecycled given their small size. Many follow the current of other plastics waste to the ocean, where they are mistaken for food by other sea creatures – and could you blame them, in this case?
 Spotted by Plasteurope.com in a shop in Frankfurt, Germany (Photo: PIE) |
Among other SUP items, the latest ban pertains to pre-filled plastic soy sauce containers of 30 ml or less that have a lid, cap, or stopper; sachets and larger containers are unaffected.
While we know deep down that this is a necessary measure, we find this farewell particularly hard to swallow.
While we know deep down that this is a necessary measure, we find this farewell particularly hard to swallow.
05.09.2025 Plasteurope.com [258549-0]
Published on 05.09.2025