eBay Australia Bans Sale Of Single-Use Plastics
eBay Australia has announced the sale of certain single use plastic items will no longer be allowed on the platform, with wide-ranging impacts from straws and plastic cutlery to personal care items like wet wipes and tampons.
At eBay, we’re committed to protecting the environment while helping our members follow environmental legislation, regulations and requirements.
On 22 August 2023, we published a new policy on the sale of single-use plastic products. If you sell these types of items, you should familiarise yourself with the new requirements.
The new policy will take effect in September. We will be communicating before then with sellers whose listings are affected by the new policy.
According to the updated policy page:
Single-use plastics (SUPs) are items that are used once, or for a short period of time, before being thrown away. Single-use plastic products are not allowed. SUPs include the following:
- Checkout bags for groceries and other goods
- Cutlery such as forks, knives and spoons
- Straws and stirrers
- Food and beverage containers, plates and lids
- Cigarette filters
- Cotton bud sticks
- Balloon sticks and ties
- Wet wipes for personal care and cleaning
- Sanitary towels, tampons and tampon applicators that contain plastic
- Non-biodegradable plastic tea bags
- Confetti
Reusable and sustainable alternative products are allowed.
Sellers found to be in violation of the new policy may face stiff consquences.
If activity doesn't meet these requirements, eBay may take action consistent with applicable laws and the eBay User Agreement, and may even be legally required to do so.
Such actions may include, as an example only:
administratively ending listings or cancelling transactions, hiding or lowering the placement of listings in search results, lowering seller rating, restricting buying or selling, forfeiture of fees, loss of buyer or seller protections, restricting access to member communication and rating tools, removing Feedback, and account suspension.
eBay UK also announced a similar ban last year due to new regulations in Scotland, but those regulations were less strict and did not include personal care products like the new policy in Australia.
Liz Morton ~ Founder
Will this new Australian ban on single-use plastics impact your business? Let us know in the comments below!
