Single-Use Plastic: Which Countries Banned Disposable Plastic in 2022?
- Jul 25, 2022
- 3 min read
A major source of pollution worldwide, the production of single-use plastic has continued to grow in recent years. Between 1950 and 2015, the amount of plastic produced increased from 2.3 million tonnes to more than 448 million tonnes. By 2030, this figure is expected to exceed 600 million tonnes. Single-use products now account for more than 40% of global plastic production. While a small proportion of this waste is recycled, most of it often ends up in the environment, threatening our ecosystems.
To tackle this problem, measures aimed at reducing single-use plastics are beginning to emerge in many parts of the world. Where do we stand in the fight against plastic? Here is a quick overview of the different laws targeting single-use plastics around the world.
Which countries have already introduced measures to tackle single-use plastics?
Plastic bags have already been banned in many countries
A few minutes of use, followed by hundreds of years in the environment before completely breaking down. When we think of single-use plastic, plastic bags are often the first type of waste that comes to mind.
Bangladesh was the first country to ban their use. As early as 2002, the country completely prohibited their distribution. The decision was made after plastic bags contributed to severe flooding across the country. Many other countries later followed suit, either banning plastic bags entirely or partially restricting them through the introduction of taxes.
In Europe, their use is restricted or banned in most countries. In France, for example, plastic bags have been banned since 2017. In Italy, the ban has been in place since 2015, while in the United Kingdom, a 5-pence charge introduced on bags handed out at checkouts led to an 85% reduction in their use.
On the African continent, South Africa led the way by banning the thinnest disposable plastic bags in 2003. In the following years, more than a dozen countries, including Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Morocco, introduced similar measures.
In Latin America, Chile took the first step by adopting a ban in 2020. Costa Rica also banned plastic bags in national parks the following year.
What about other types of plastic waste?
While reducing the use of plastic bags is an important first step, it is not enough to effectively tackle plastic waste production. Some countries have decided to go further by targeting other everyday plastic products.
In Europe, since July 1, 2021, a directive has prohibited the sale of certain single-use plastic items such as straws, plastic stirrers and cutlery. Some countries, including France, introduced measures ahead of this deadline. With the Anti-Waste Law for a Circular Economy — known as the AGEC Law — coming into force in 2020, France notably set itself the goal of completely phasing out disposable plastic by 2040.
Turning now to Asia, several Indian states have strictly banned plastic cups and disposable plastic bags. In the capital and in the state of Maharashtra, since March 2018, it has even been prohibited to buy, sell, possess or use any type of disposable plastic.
Even more ambitious, the Caribbean island nation of Dominica became, on January 1, 2019, the first country to ban all single-use plastic items as well as polystyrene packaging.
What are the next planned bans on single-use plastics?
While some countries have already made significant progress in reducing single-use plastics, others are still lagging behind. Nevertheless, several have announced new measures for the coming years.
Let’s start with the United States, which announced on June 8 that it would take measures to reduce plastic production across the country. As one of the world’s largest producers of plastic waste, the United States generates more than twice as much plastic waste as China and more than all European Union countries combined. Its objective is to gradually phase out single-use plastic products by 2032.
New Zealand and Australia are also planning new measures in the near future. Both countries intend to introduce restrictions on single-use plastics, respectively by 2025 and 2024.
The same applies to Canada, which planned to ban six categories of single-use plastics nationwide in 2023: plastic bags, straws, stirrers, six-pack rings, cutlery and polystyrene packaging.
What if we stopped using single-use products now?
Unfortunately, single-use plastic is not the only source of waste on our planet. Since its use has become more restricted, we have seen an increasing number of paper and cardboard alternatives appear. Although they may seem more environmentally friendly at first glance, they are not necessarily less polluting.
As we often say: the best waste is the waste we do not produce — and some countries have understood this very well. The Netherlands, one of the countries leading the fight against single-use products, has also decided to tackle paper cups, with a ban scheduled from 2024.
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