WESTERN AUSTRALIA IS BANNING FOSSIL PLASTIC BARRIER BAGS.

What’s changing, when and what can you use instead?

Western Australia is progressively banning conventional plastic barrier bags under its Plan for Plastics.

These are the lightweight plastic bags commonly used for fresh produce, loose foods and food sold over the counter.

Around 115 million plastic barrier bags were being used in WA every year before the restrictions began. With no current recycling pathway for these plastic bags in WA, the Government is moving towards alternatives with a clearer end-of-life pathway.

THE BAN AT A GLANCE

September 2024
Non-compostable plastic barrier bags for loose fresh fruit and vegetables were banned.

October 2025
The ban expanded to plastic barrier bags for loose dry nuts and confectionery.

1 OCTOBER 2026
The ban expands to plastic barrier bags used for unpackaged meat, seafood and dairy products.

WHAT DOES “UNPACKAGED” MEAN?

This means food sold loose and placed into a barrier bag at the point of sale.

Think steaks or sausages placed into a bag by a butcher, or fresh fish bagged at a seafood counter.

It does not mean that every plastic package containing meat or seafood is being banned. Pre-packed products, such as a vacuum-packed steak or sealed tray of mince, are not necessarily captured by this particular barrier-bag ban.

SO, WHAT CAN YOU USE INSTEAD?

Depending on the application, alternatives include:

And there's an important detail businesses need to know:

CERTIFIED FILM IS NOT THE SAME AS A CERTIFIED FINISHED BAG.

For compostable barrier bags covered by WA's design standard, the finished bag must be certified to AS5810 Home Compostable or AS 4736 Industrial Compostable.

That's important because printing, inks and the finished construction of the packaging matter.

When sourcing an alternative, ask your supplier whether the finished bag itself is certified.

THE GOOD NEWS? THE ALTERNATIVE ALREADY EXISTS.

Salty has spent years engineering alternatives to conventional flexible plastic packaging.

Our award-winning vacuum seal, heat seal and sous vide bags are independently AS5810 Home Compostable certified as complete finished printed products.

Designed for demanding food applications including:

Meat · Seafood · Fish · Game · Foodservice · Freezing · Portioning

They're also:

  • Food-contact safe

  • Free from added PFAS

  • Heat sealable

  • Vacuum sealable

  • Strong and durable

  • Suitable for freezing

  • Washable and reusable before composting

  • Made in New Zealand

At end of life, the bags can be organically recycled in a home composting environment, where microorganisms break down the compostable material into biomass, CO₂ and water under ambient composting conditions.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The WA ban is specifically targeting certain single-use barrier bags — not every form of flexible plastic food packaging.

But the direction is clear.

Packaging regulation is increasingly focusing on what happens after packaging has done its job. For difficult-to-recycle flexible plastics, businesses need to consider alternatives with credible, certified end-of-life pathways.

ARE YOU READY FOR THE CHANGE?

If you're a butcher, seafood supplier, food producer, retailer or hospitality business using conventional plastic barrier bags, now is the time to review your packaging and prepare for the change.

Salty offers an award-winning, proven and certified home-compostable alternative to conventional flexible plastic packaging.

Whether you need packaging for meat, seafood, fish, game, foodservice, freezing or portioning, our technology provides the performance required from flexible food packaging with a certified home-compostable end-of-life pathway.

Stock sizes available 220 × 280 mm & 220 × 500 mm
Custom sizes available from 2,000 units with a 2-4 week manufacturing timeframe.

THE ALTERNATIVE ALREADY EXISTS.

We are Salty. Award-winning. Certified. Proven. Made in New Zealand.

Make the switch to certified home-compostable packaging. email enquiries@saltoftheearthpackaging.nz for more information or to purchase samples SAMPLE PACK