If the latest round of plastic bans have gone by, some western retailers say they've hardly seen an impact.

New rules came into effect on 1 January that barred plastic items packed inside, or attached to, food and drink packaging via a machine-automated process.

That includes plastic straws on the side of juice boxes and plastic spoons sealed inside snack packs.

Bourke's Copper Rose Café owner Steven Turner said customers haven’t fussed about the move away from 'integrated packaging.'

"There's not really too much concern over it," he said.

"Paper straws have got better now. They've probably got a harder lining on the outside."

Dunedoo's White Rose Cafe began the move away from plastics well before the new ban. IMAGE: Facebook/ White Rose Cafe.

The ban applies to brand owners, manufacturers and retailers, and does not include the plastic sleeve encasing paper straws.

Single-use plastic straws were banned in NSW from 1 November 2022, although straws integrated with packaging were a temporary exemption.

At the White Rose Café in Dunedoo, Meeya Newman said they already made the switch at least 12 months ago.

"I think everyone was aware that the rule was coming, and a lot of companies, a lot of places, were also doing it," she said.

"People just adjusted."

Ms Newman also said the change hasn't bothered customers, although it was a "frustrating" process to find the right paper alternatives.

"You can't return products once they've been opened," she said. 

"We had a lot of reps selling us their product, or giving us their products, or we had to buy them - especially straws and cups - and they just didn't hold up."

Other retailers told the App they had seen little to no impact since the start of 2025.

One didn't have the problem of transitioning products since they only opened in late 2024.