Australian state to ban iconic fish-shaped soy sauce bottles

An Australian state will ban fish-shaped soy sauce containers, as part of a wider ban on single-use plastics.

The iconic containers have become a staple in many Asian restaurants and takeaways around the world, shops and businesses in South Australia will be banned from selling or distributing them from Monday.

"Each fish-shaped container is used for just seconds, yet remains in the environment for decades or centuries if littered," Environment Minister and Deputy Premier for South Australia, Susan Close, said earlier this month.

The move builds on legislation passed in 2023 that banned supermarket carrier bags, plastic straws, drinks stirrers, cotton buds, and confetti, among other things.

The South Australia government says it implemented the policy to "reduce pollution, cut carbon emissions and protect marine life".

Although soy sauce containers are made of a recyclable plastic - polyethylene - their small size means they struggle to be processed by machines properly. This means they often don't get recycled.

The ban from Monday covers any pre-filled 30ml soy sauce container that has a lid, cap or stopper.

But the fish-shaped soy sauce packets, invented by Teruo Watanabe in Japan in 1954, are perhaps the most recognisable.

They were first made of ceramic or glass before becoming plastic - and quickly became a popular way to squeeze soy sauce onto takeaway sushi.

People will still be able to have soy sauce with their sushi, as large soy sauce bottles and sachets are not affected by the ban.

Australian officials said that, without action, the annual flow of plastic into the ocean would triple by 2040 to 29 million tonnes per year.

A global comparison of plastics waste management placed Australia seventh among 25 nations for its overall efforts to control plastic pollution.