Should Plastic Be Banned? Which Country Banned Plastic?

May 6, 2024

Plastic waste has become a global environmental problem due to the consequences it has on the Earth, such as environmental pollution, climate change, impacts on human health, and increased economic burdens. Reducing plastic waste requires the cooperation of countries through specific regulations. So which country banned plastic? Let's find out more in today's article.

Should Plastic Be Banned?

Plastic bags and single-use plastic products are major threats to the environment. We need to take measures to limit the use of these products to protect the Earth.

Plastic bags are made from polyethylene, a synthetic resin with high durability and water resistance. However, these very properties make plastic bags a hazard to the environment. Plastic bags are very difficult to decompose and can persist in the environment for hundreds of years. When littered, they pollute land, water, and air.

In addition, plastic bags are also dangerous to animals. Many animals have died from swallowing plastic bags or getting entangled in them.

Banning single-use plastics is an effective measure to minimize the impact of plastic waste on the environment. Some countries have issued bans on plastic bags, such as Vietnam.

In addition to plastic bags, there are many other single-use plastic products that are also harmful to the environment, including:

Plastic straws: Plastic straws are often used once and then thrown away. They are very difficult to recycle and can clog sewers and rivers.
Plastic cups: Plastic cups are often used to hold soft drinks, coffee, milk tea, etc. They are also a type of plastic waste that is difficult to decompose and pollutes the environment.
Plastic plates, spoons, forks: Plastic plates, spoons, forks are often used in fast food or picnics. They are also single-use plastic products that are harmful to the environment.
Styrofoam boxes: Styrofoam boxes are often used to hold takeout food. They are very difficult to decompose and can release toxic chemicals into the environment when burned.

Individual actions and government initiatives, particularly plastic bans, are crucial in translating environmental concerns into tangible actions. In the next section, we will examine the countries implementing plastic bans and the implications for businesses.

Which Country Banned Plastic?

The global recognition of the detrimental impact of single-use plastic pollution has led to a surge in national and regional regulations aimed at curbing its production and consumption. Each country implements its own unique approach to plastic bans, reflecting the specific environmental challenges and policy priorities.

As mentioned above, plastic bags are one of the most common types of single-use plastic waste and cause severe environmental pollution. Therefore, many countries around the world have issued bans or restrictions on the use of plastic bags. Here is a list of some countries that have completely or partially banned plastic bags:

Legislation	Country	United Nations Regional Group	Notes
Ban	Benin	Africa	Since November 2017.
Ban	Botswana	Africa	Since November 2018.
Ban	Burkina Faso	Africa	Since 2015.
Ban	Burundi	Africa	Since 22 August 2019.
Ban	Cameroon	Africa	Since April 2014.
Ban	Cape Verde	Africa	Since 2017.
Ban	Central African Republic	Africa	Since 2021
Regional ban	Chad	Africa	Banned in N'Djamena.
Ban	Comoros	Africa	Since April 2018.
Ban	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Africa	Since 2018.
Ban	Republic of the Congo	Africa	Since 2011.
Ban	Djibouti	Africa
Regional ban	Egypt	Africa	Banned in Red Sea Governorate.
Charge	Equatorial Guinea	Africa	Charge since 12 December 2019.
Ban	Eritrea	Africa	Since 2005.
Regional ban	Ethiopia	Africa
Ban	Gabon	Africa	Since 2010.
Ban	Gambia	Africa	Since 2015.
Ban	Guinea-Bissau	Africa	Since 2016.
Ban	Ivory Coast	Africa	Since 2014.
Ban	Kenya	Africa	Since 28 August 2017.
	Lesotho	Africa	Charge planned.
Ban	Madagascar	Africa	Since 2015.
	Malawi	Africa	Bans revoked several times.
Ban	Mali	Africa
Ban	Mauritania	Africa	Since 2013.
Ban	Mauritius	Africa	Since 2016.
Ban	Morocco	Africa	Since July 2016.
Charge	Mozambique	Africa	Since 5 February 2016. Ban to be implemented by 2024.
Regional ban	Namibia	Africa	Banned in protected places. Levy approved but not implemented.
Ban	Niger	Africa
Ban	Nigeria	Africa
Ban	Rwanda	Africa	Since 2008.
Ban	Sao Tome and Principe	Africa	Since 2021
Ban	Senegal	Africa	Since April 2015.
Ban	Seychelles	Africa	Since 2017.
Regional ban	Somalia	Africa	Banned in Somaliland.
Charge	South Africa	Africa	Since 2004.
Ban	South Sudan	Africa
Regional ban	Sudan	Africa	Banned in Khartoum State.
Ban	Tanzania, United Republic of	Africa	Since June 2019.
Ban	Togo	Africa	Since July 2018.
Ban	Tunisia	Africa	Since March 2017.
Ban	Uganda	Africa	Since September 2007.
	Zambia	Africa	Ban announced but not implemented.
Ban	Zimbabwe	Africa
Ban	Sri Lanka	Asia	Since 2017.
Ban	Afghanistan	Asia-Pacific
Ban	Bahrain	Asia-Pacific	Since 21 July 2019.
Ban	Bangladesh	Asia-Pacific	Since 2002.
Ban	Bhutan	Asia-Pacific
Voluntary charge	Brunei	Asia-Pacific
Charge	Cambodia	Asia-Pacific	Since October 2017.
Ban	People's Republic of China	Asia-Pacific	Since 2022. Charge applied since June 2008. Replaced by ban, excluding fresh produce markets until 2025. Hong Kong and Macau apply a charge.
Charge	Republic of China (Taiwan)	Asia-Pacific	Since 2003. Ban planned for 2030.
Ban	East Timor	Asia-Pacific	Since 23 February 2021.
Ban	Fiji	Asia-Pacific	Since 2020.
Ban	India	Asia-Pacific	Since 2002. Also banned at regional levels due to poor enforcement.
Regional bans and charges	Indonesia	Asia-Pacific	Charges in 23 cities. Banned in Bali since June 2019 and Jakarta since July 2020.
Charge	Japan	Asia-Pacific	Since July 2020.
	Kazakhstan	Asia-Pacific	Ban is being considered.
Ban	Kiribati	Asia-Pacific	Since October 2020.
Regional ban	Kyrgyzstan	Asia-Pacific	Banned in tourist areas. Ban planned for 2027.
Regional ban	Lebanon	Asia-Pacific	Banned in Byblos.
Regional charge	Malaysia	Asia-Pacific	Charges in two states.
Ban	Maldives	Asia-Pacific	Since June 2021.
Ban	Marshall Islands	Asia-Pacific
Ban	Micronesia	Asia-Pacific	Since 31 December 2020.
Ban	Mongolia	Asia-Pacific	Since March 2019.
Regional ban	Myanmar	Asia-Pacific	Banned in Yangon.
Ban	Nauru	Asia-Pacific	Since 23 April 2021.
Ban	Nepal	Asia-Pacific
Ban	Oman	Asia-Pacific	Since 2021.
Ban	Pakistan	Asia-Pacific	Banned independently in each of the country's provinces and territories from 1994 to 2019.
Ban	Palau	Asia-Pacific
Ban	Papua New Guinea	Asia-Pacific	Since 2016.
Regional ban and charges	Philippines	Asia-Pacific	Banned in select cities of Metro Manila, excluding Taguig, Malabon, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Navotas and San Juan.
Ban	Samoa	Asia-Pacific	Since 2019.
Regional ban	Solomon Islands	Asia-Pacific	Banned in Western Province.
Ban	Republic of Korea	Asia-Pacific	Since August 2018.
Ban	Thailand	Asia-Pacific	Since 2021.
Ban	Tuvalu	Asia-Pacific	Since August 2019.
Ban	United Arab Emirates	Asia-Pacific	Since 1 January 2024.
Charge	Uzbekistan	Asia-Pacific	Since 2019.
Ban	Vanuatu	Asia-Pacific	Since 31 January 2018.
	Vietnam	Asia-Pacific	Ban planned for 2025.
Ban	Yemen	Asia-Pacific
Ban	Albania	Eastern Europe	Since 2018.
Ban	Armenia	Eastern Europe	Since 2022.
Ban	Azerbaijan	Eastern Europe	Since 2021.
	Belarus	Eastern Europe	Charge is being considered.
Charge	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Eastern Europe
Charge	Bulgaria	Eastern Europe
Ban	Croatia	Eastern Europe	Since 2022.
Charge	Czech Republic	Eastern Europe	Since 2018
Charge	Estonia	Eastern Europe	Since July 2017.
Ban	Georgia	Eastern Europe	Since 2017.
Charge	Hungary	Eastern Europe	Since 2012.
Charge	Latvia	Eastern Europe	Since January 2019. Ban to be implemented by 2025.
Charge	Lithuania	Eastern Europe	Since 31 December 2018.
Ban	Republic of Moldova	Eastern Europe	Since 2021.
	Montenegro	Eastern Europe	Ban has been proposed.
Charge	North Macedonia	Eastern Europe	Since 2009.
Charge	Poland	Eastern Europe	Since 2018.
Ban	Romania	Eastern Europe	Since 2019.
	Russian Federation	Eastern Europe	Ban planned for 2024.
Charge	Serbia	Eastern Europe	Since 2018. Banned in Belgrade and Novi Sad.
Charge	Slovakia	Eastern Europe	Since March 2017.
Charge	Slovenia	Eastern Europe	Since 2019.
Ban	Ukraine	Eastern Europe	Since 10 December 2021.
Ban	Antigua and Barbuda	Latin America
Regional ban	Argentina	Latin America	Banned in several provinces and cities.
Ban	Bahamas	Latin America	Since 1 July 2020.
Ban	Barbados	Latin America	Since April 2019.
Ban	Belize	Latin America	Since 22 April 2019 (Earth Day).
Regional ban	Brazil	Latin America	Banned in Sao Paulo and the State of Rio de Janeiro.
Ban	Chile	Latin America	Since February 2019.
Ban	Colombia	Latin America	Since July 2017. Charge applied to reusable bags.
Ban	Costa Rica	Latin America	Since 2021.
Charge	Ecuador	Latin America	Since 9 May 2020. Banned in the Galápagos Islands.
Ban	Grenada	Latin America	Since February 2019.
Ban	Guatemala	Latin America	Since 2021.
Ban	Guyana	Latin America	Since 2021.
Ban	Haiti	Latin America
Regional ban	Honduras	Latin America	Banned in the Bay Islands Department.
Ban	Jamaica	Latin America	Since January 2019.
Regional ban	Mexico	Latin America	Banned in 18 states and Mexico City.
Ban	Panama	Latin America	Since 20 July 2019.
Charge	Peru	Latin America	Since August 2019.
Ban	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Latin America	Since August 2020.
Ban	Anguilla	N/A	Since 2018.
	British Indian Ocean Territory	N/A	Move from plastic to paper bags planned, method not announced.
Ban	Gibraltar	N/A	Since 2019.
Regional bans and voluntary charges	(Bailiwick of) Guernsey	N/A	Ban in Alderney. Voluntary charge in Guernsey.
Ban	Isle of Man	N/A	Full ban in force from 18 October 2023, including products made from oxo-degradable plastics.
Ban	Jersey	N/A	Ban since July 2022. Reusable bags subject to 70p charge.
Ban	Turks and Caicos	N/A	Since January 2019.
Ban	Dominica	North America	Since 2019.
Regional ban	Bolivia	South America	Banned in La Paz.
Ban	Uruguay	South America	Since July 2019.
Ban	Andorra	Western Europe and Others	Since 2017.
Ban	Australia	Western Europe and Others	Lightweight plastic bags banned in supermarkets in all states and territories. Initially replaced by reusable thick 15¢ bags in the two major supermarket chains, this was phased out by June 2023. Legislation covering other retailers varies by state/territory. Norfolk Island has a voluntary agreement with retailers.
Ban	Austria	Western Europe and Others	Since 2020.
Ban	Belgium	Western Europe and Others	Since 2016 in Wallonia, 2017 in Brussels, 2019 in Flanders.
Ban	Canada	Western Europe and Others	Since 20 Dec 2022.
Ban	Cyprus	Western Europe and Others	Since 18 February 2023.
Charge	Denmark	Western Europe and Others	A tax on plastic bags since 1993. There is also a tax in Greenland.
Voluntary charge	Finland	Western Europe and Others
Ban	France	Western Europe and Others	Since July 2016. Also banned in Overseas France.
Ban	Germany	Western Europe and Others	Since 2022.
Charge	Greece	Western Europe and Others	Since 2018.
Ban	Iceland	Western Europe and Others	Since 2021.
Charge	Ireland	Western Europe and Others	Since March 2002, a 0.15 Euro tax has been added to all plastic bags, increasing to 0.22 Euro in July 2007. Since these charges were added, there has been a 90% reduction in the use of plastic bags.
Charge	Israel	Western Europe and Others	Since January 2017.
Ban	Italy	Western Europe and Others	Since January 2011.
Charge	Luxembourg	Western Europe and Others
Ban	Malta	Western Europe and Others	Since 2022.
Ban	Monaco	Western Europe and Others	Since 2016.
Charge	Netherlands	Western Europe and Others	Since 2016. Banned in Aruba, Sint Maarten and Caribbean Netherlands.
Ban	New Zealand	Western Europe and Others	Since July 2019. Also banned in Niue. Ban planned in the Cook Islands.
Voluntary charge	Norway	Western Europe and Others
Charge	Portugal	Western Europe and Others	Since 2016.
Ban	San Marino	Western Europe and Others	Since 1 June 2021.
Charge	Sweden	Western Europe and Others
Voluntary charge	Switzerland	Western Europe and Others	Banned in Geneva since 2020. Voluntary charge elsewhere.
Charge	Turkey	Western Europe and Others	Also a ban in some regions. Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus also applies a charge.
Charge	United Kingdom	Western Europe and Others	England: 5p levy introduced in 2015. Raised to 10p in 2021.
Charge	United Kingdom	Western Europe and Others	Northern Ireland: 5p levy since 2013. Raised to 25p in 2022.
Charge	United Kingdom	Western Europe and Others	Scotland: 5p charge since 2014. Raised to 10p in 2021.
Charge	United Kingdom	Western Europe and Others	Wales: 5p charge since 2011. Ban proposed.
Regional bans and charges	United States	Western Europe and Others	Banned in twelve states (one de facto) and five territories. Charge in Washington, DC. Bans and charges in several municipalities.
Ban	Vatican City	Western Europe and Others	Since 2019.
Charge	Spain	Western Europe And Others	Since July 2018. Banned in Balearic Islands since 2020.

North America exhibits a patchwork of regulations on single-use plastics, with initiatives implemented at both the federal and local levels.

US Regulations:

Many states and major cities in the United States have enacted bans or restrictions on specific single-use plastic items, including:
Plastic bags: Widespread bans or limitations are in place.
Plastic straws: Many states and cities have implemented bans or restrictions.
Plastic cups: Some states and cities have banned or restricted the use of plastic cups, particularly polystyrene cups.
Plastic cutlery: Bans or restrictions are becoming increasingly common.

Canadian Policies:

Canada has pledged to eliminate single-use plastic waste by 2030 and is actively pursuing this goal through several strategies:
Banning specific items: Certain single-use plastics, such as bags, straws, and coffee stirrers, are now prohibited.
Investing in alternatives: Research and development of sustainable substitutes for single-use plastics are being actively supported.
Promoting recycling: Initiatives are underway to incentivize plastic recycling and raise public awareness of its importance.

However, there are some important considerations:

Plastic ban regulations are subject to change over time. It is crucial to consult official sources for the latest updates.
Additional restrictions or bans on various plastic items beyond those mentioned may exist in individual countries.
The global fight against single-use plastic waste necessitates a multifaceted approach, with individual nations implementing their own regulations tailored to their specific contexts.

So, the ban on plastic bags and single-use plastics is not a trend but a tendency that your business can not avoid. What are Impacts of plastic ban on your business? Discover in the next section.

Impact of Plastic Ban on Business

The global movement towards banning single-use plastics and embracing eco-friendly packaging is gaining momentum, making it an imperative for businesses to adapt and adopt sustainable practices. This transition presents both challenges and opportunities, particularly for industries heavily reliant on plastic packaging, including food and beverage and retail. They are explained as below.

Food and Beverage (F&B)

The rise of takeaway and delivery services has significantly increased the demand for disposable packaging, often made from single-use plastics. This sector faces a pressing need to shift towards eco-friendly alternatives, such as: Compostable packaging that is made from plant-based materials that break down naturally, reducing environmental impact. Or encouraging customers to return and reuse containers minimizes waste generation.

Retail

Retailers, particularly those dealing with high volumes of products, rely heavily on plastic bags for packaging and carrying goods. Transitioning to sustainable alternatives is crucial, including:

Reusable bags: Offering durable and reusable cloth or canvas bags to replace single-use plastic bags.
Paper bags: Utilizing paper bags made from recycled or sustainably sourced materials as a temporary solution.

While the transition to eco-friendly packaging may pose initial challenges, it also presents significant opportunities for businesses, including:

Enhanced brand reputation: Demonstrating a commitment to sustainability can attract environmentally conscious consumers and boost brand image.
Reduced ecological footprint: Minimizing the use of single-use plastics and adopting eco-friendly alternatives reduces a company's environmental impact.
Compliance with regulations: As plastic bans and restrictions become more stringent, early adopters of sustainable packaging will gain a competitive edge.

Overall, the shift towards eco-friendly packaging is not merely an option but an inevitable necessity for businesses to remain competitive and sustainable in the future. By embracing eco-friendly practices, companies can not only reduce their environmental footprint but also enhance their brand reputation and attract a growing segment of environmentally conscious consumers. Embracing this change is not just about adapting to regulations; it's about seizing an opportunity to become a leader in a more sustainable future.

Conclusion

Eco-friendly packaging is the inevitable future. F&B and retail industries must prioritize sustainable solutions to minimize environmental impact, enhance brand image, and gain a competitive edge. This shift is not just about compliance; it's about building a thriving future in harmony with the planet.

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