Case study of
#00091 Bans on the most-littered problematic single-use plastics
England, UK
#00084
OngoingNational
Implementer
UK Government (Defra)
Timeline
Since Oct 1, 2023
Location
England, UK52.5310, -1.2649
Description
From October 2023, England banned the supply of plastic plates, bowls, trays, cutlery, balloon sticks, and expanded-polystyrene food and drink containers. This followed an earlier ban on straws, stirrers, and cotton-bud sticks. The ban was implemented by Defra under statutory instrument, removing items from the supply chain rather than relying on behavioural change at point of use.
Lessons learned
- The England ban followed a staged sequence: plastic bag charge (2015), straw/stirrer/cotton-bud ban (2020), then the October 2023 ban on plates, cutlery, and EPS containers — replicators should map which items are highest-volume litter locally and phase accordingly.
Documented Jun 26, 2026