Governance & Policy
Single-Use Plastics Directive
European Union directive that bans or restricts certain single-use plastic products and sets collection, recycled-content and producer-responsibility requirements for others.
Definition
The Single-Use Plastics Directive, Directive (EU) 2019/904, targets the ten single-use plastic items most commonly found on European beaches. It bans items such as plastic cutlery, plates and expanded-polystyrene food containers, requires tethered caps and recycled content in beverage bottles, sets separate-collection targets, and extends producer responsibility to items such as cigarette filters and fishing gear.
Quick reference
At a glance
- Subject
- Governance & Policy
- Editorial status
- Editorial draft
- Definition status
- Established
- Last updated
- 19 August 2026
- Also known as
- SUP Directive · Directive (EU) 2019/904
Overview
What it means
The most littered plastic items are either removed from the EU market or made subject to design, labelling and end-of-life obligations.
How it is used
Product teams check bans and marking rules; producers register with extended producer responsibility schemes; campaigners cite it in plastics-treaty debates.
Why it matters
It was the EU's first plastics-specific law and a proving ground for measures — bans, recycled content, EPR — now being globalised in treaty negotiations.
Review
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