The fish-shaped soy sauce containers that come with sushi for takeout will be completely banned in South Australia.
According to the British media outlet The Guardian on the 31st (local time), South Australia will implement a statewide ban on single-use plastics starting on the 1st of this month. The outlet reported that South Australia will be the world's first local government to ban fish-shaped soy sauce containers.
Under this legislation, soy sauce containers with lids or caps that are 30 milliliters or less are banned, while plastic packaging is allowed. The government is encouraging the use of larger bottles instead.
South Australia's Minister for the Environment, Susan Close, noted that 'the plastic fish containers are small, making them easy to drop or wash down drains, which are a major cause of beach and street litter' and that 'replacing them with reusable condiment containers or larger containers can reduce the influx of single-use plastics.'
The fish-shaped container known as 'shoyu dai' in Japan was invented by Teruo Watanabe, founder of Asahi Shokyo in Osaka, Japan, in 1954. It spread under the name 'Lunch Charm' as a substitute for glass or ceramic containers.