Single-use Plastic

The results of this survey demonstrate that there is overwhelming public support for the Global Plastics Treaty to cut plastic production, end single-use plastics and advance reuse-based solutions. This sends a strong message to the governments negotiating the Global Plastics Treaty.

This library on the global plastics treaty provides a wealth of publications, websites, and communication tools related to the plastics treaty negotiations.

Amazon, after phasing out single-use plastic packaging in major markets including India and Europe, is refusing to commit to do the same in the U.S. — its largest and home market — as well as in other countries the company operates in where marine plastic pollution is a significant problem.

There is a clear and strong linear relationship between companies’ annual production of plastic and their branded plastic pollution. Phasing out single-use and short-lived plastic products by the largest polluters would greatly reduce global plastic pollution.

The main aim of the Zero Waste Cities Manual is to provide a practical guide for the implementation of a zero waste system that emphasises decentralisation, source segregation, resource recovery, and informal sector inclusion. The vision for a zero waste system is to minimise movement of solid waste generated to disposal sites or facilities.

Promising research continues to emerge around alternative materials to single-use plastic. However, labels like “compostable” and “biodegradable” are misleading. The case study offers greater transparency around these novel materials, their behavior in the environment, and other concerns.

In this report, Greenpeace International exposes the blight of Unilever’s single-use sachets on low-income communities and the glaring gap that exists between what the company says it will do, and what it actually does.

This analysis reveals that the planned trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur will eliminate tariffs for plastics exports from the EU to South America – including tariffs for plastic items whose trade and use are banned in the EU in order to protect the environment and human health.

In the ongoing negotiations of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, the realities of disposable paper-based food packaging should not be ignored. Legislators must seize the opportunity to curb the growing levels of packaging waste driven by overreliance on single-use products.

When it comes to packaging for food and beverages, misconceptions about its relation to food hygiene, health concerns, and food waste have been spread by the interested industry for some time. This factsheet aims to bust some of the most common myths.