Single-use Plastics

Amid growing global concerns surrounding plastic pollution, single-use plastics (also known as disposable or ‘problematic’ plastics) have become the focus of intense policy action. Their unitary lifespan has led to the proliferation of their waste within the environment, resulting in physical environmental damage and posing significant risks to human health and wildlife.

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Single-use Plastics

195

Countries Covered

820

Sources in C2P

Regulatory Content Overview

Our single-use plastics topic in C2P is focused on laws, regulations and supporting sources aimed at discouraging, reducing and restricting single-use plastics within society. Measures adopted in dealing with the pollution of single-use plastics typically involve a combination of the following:

Bans/Restrictions on the manufacturing, importation, distribution and/or usage of single-use plastics
Taxes or levies on their production or distribution (fixed or recommended)
National consumption and reduction targets
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) on the prevention and management of plastic products at the end of their life cycle (collection, management, sorting, etc.)
Voluntary Industry Pacts

Our coverage focuses on the following *products:

Plastic bags, including carrier shopping bags and polybags.
Polystyrene materials (This does not include polystyrene food containers).
Oxo-degradable plastics.
Biodegradable, recyclable and compostable plastics

*Note: We do not currently cover beverage containers, fishing gear, tobacco or sanitary products.

Coverage Included

Our regulatory content in C2P is historically comprehensive with a robust QA process to ensure quality, consistency and accuracy. Below is a high level summary of our coverage for this topic:

EU: Reduction of the Environmental Impact of Certain Plastic Products, Directive (EU) 2019/904 (‘Single-Use Plastics Directive’)
EU: European Plastics Pact, February 2020
France: Anti-waste and Promotion of Circular Economy, Law 2020-105
New York (USA): Bag Waste Reduction, Part H of Assembly Bill 2008 Enacted, 2019
Queensland (Australia): Waste Reduction and Recycling Act, No. 31, 2011 – Amendment – (on lightweight plastic shopping bags, beverage containers etc.) Act No. 31, 2017
Saudi Arabia: Biodegradable Plastic Products, Technical Regulation, June 2016
UN: Single-use Plastics A Roadmap for Sustainability, Report, 2018
China: Administrative Measure on the Use and Reporting of Single Use Plastics, Order No. 1, 2023
India: Plastic Waste Management, Rules, March 2016 – Amendment – (on QR code labelling of plastic carry bag and multi-layered packaging, penalties for non-compliance, etc) Rules, G.S.R. 73(E), 2025
California (USA): Single Use Plastic Carryout Bag Ban, Senate Bill 270 Enacted, 2014 – Amendment – (on carryout bag ban, repealing at-store recycling program) Senate Bill 1053 Enacted, 2024

We cover standards for our core products that are available from our partner Accuris. These are available through our Product Compliance Solution.