In Australia, fish -shaped soy sauce containers will be banned under a wider ban on single use plastics.
The symbolic container has become a necessity in many Asian restaurants and takeouts around the world.
Susan Close, South Australia, and deputy minister and deputy director, said, “The containers of each fish are used for several seconds, but they remain in the environment for decades.”
Starting September 1, South Australia’s shops and businesses can no longer sell or distribute pre -filled 30ml soy containers with lids, hats or stopper.
This measure is based on the previous environmental law, which banned supermarket carrier bags, plastic straws, beverage stirrers, cotton swabs and colored paper since 2023.
The South Australian government said it has implemented a policy that “reduces pollution, reduces carbon emissions, and protects marine life.”
Soy sauce containers are made of recyclable plastics (polyethylene), but small size struggles to properly process with machines. This means that it is often not recycled.
Fish -shaped soy sauce containers were invented in Japan in 1954 by Teruo Watanabe. They were first made of ceramic or glass before they became plastic, and it was a popular way to squeeze soy sauce in takout sushi.
People can still have soy sauce with sushi because large soy sauce and fragrance pockets were not affected.
Australian officials said that the sea flow of plastics would be tripled from 2040 to 29 million tons per year without action.
Due to the global comparison of plastic waste management, it ranked seventh among 25 countries with the overall efforts to control plastic pollution.
