Bans on the most-littered problematic single-use plastics
#00091
Prohibit specific high-frequency, low-value single-use plastics — straws, stirrers, cutlery, plates, expanded-polystyrene food containers, balloon sticks — removing the item from the market entirely so it cannot become litter.
Parent issue
#00078 Single-use packaging and carrier bags escape into the environment
Sustainable Development Goals
Location
Description
Mechanism
Legally prohibit the sale or supply of specific single-use plastic items that are both commonly littered and have readily available alternatives — straws, stirrers, plastic cutlery and plates, expanded-polystyrene food and drink containers, cotton-bud sticks, balloon sticks. Unlike a charge, a ban removes the item from circulation outright, so it cannot enter the litter stream at all.
Where it fits
An upstream, item-level instrument within the single-use-packaging facet, typically applied after bag charges as policy moves up the list of most-littered items. Often aligned with regional directives.
Operating profile and limits
Eliminates the targeted items by design; effectiveness depends on enforcement and on alternatives not simply substituting one problem for another. Bans are politically harder per item than charges and must be expanded item-by-item; they do not by themselves address packaging that has no easy substitute.
Sub-issues
0Case studies
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