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[title]Despite looking like little aquatic creatures, the plastic soy sauce bottles that so often accompany a quick sushi lunch wreak havoc on our ecosystems. While they’re made from recyclable polyethylene, the tiny fish are so small that many recycling machines can’t actually process them – and that’s if they’re even thrown into the recycling bin in the first place. Worse still, their fish-like appearance can trick birds and marine life into thinking they’re food, with often fatal outcomes.
Off the back of South Australia becoming the first state to ban the soy sauce bottles in 2025, followed closely by New South Wales phasing them out just a year later, Melbourne is stepping up to the plate. Leading the charge is the city’s home of fresh seafood, South Melbourne Market, with their Ditch the Fish campaign.
The initiative has successfully phased out single-use plastic soy sauce containers across participating traders including fishmongers, Aptus Seafoods, Gem Pier and South Melbourne Seafoods, and sushi trader Yoyo Sushi. To make the transition easier for customers, complimentary soy sauce is already available at fishmonger counters near the oyster bars. The Market is also encouraging the use of reusable containers or for customers to enjoy soy sauce at home and at work when taking away.
This marks one of many sustainability initiatives at the beloved market. South Melbourne Market is also home to Shuck Don’t Chuck, an initiative helping to restore Port Phillip Bay’s once-thriving shellfish reefs in partnership with The Nature Conservatory. Through the program, which has been running since 2017, oyster, mussel and scallop shells that would otherwise go to waste are collected, cured and returned to the Bay to rebuild vital reef ecosystems. In even more good news, the Ditch the Fish initiative supports the success of this work by reducing contamination, as discarded soy sauce containers can impact the reuse of oyster shells onsite.
Following a recent fourth-place finish in a global market ranking and with sustainability firmly on the agenda, there’s never been a better time to visit South Melbourne Market. Make your next trip a green one and get behind Ditch the Fish.
Find out more here.