eBay is prohibiting the sale of single use plastic in Australia next month. It referred to the Australia National Retail Association, which made clear the likely impetus behind eBay’s new policy, noting on its website that the governments of multiple states and territories in that country are implementing or considering bans on a range of plastic items.
eBay Australia listed the following items as being covered by the ban:
- 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
eBay Australia stated reusable and sustainable alternative products are allowed for sale on its marketplace. It included the following actions it might take if it finds sellers in violation of the policy:
“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 published the new policy on its site on August 22, 2023, and said, “We will be communicating before then with sellers whose listings are affected by the new policy.”
eBay had informed sellers in January of the plastics ban by certain governments and advised them to comply with the laws and referred them to the NRA retail organization to learn more.
Ina Steiner
