The SINGLE USE PLASTICS DIRECTIVE

The Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) has become one of the European Union’s most effective environmental instruments, significantly advancing efforts to reduce single-use plastic waste and marine litter. At a time when plastic pollution continues to threaten ecosystems, biodiversity and human health, the Directive has provided regulatory clarity and a strong signal that unnecessary single-use plastics must be phased out. 

The Natural Polymers Group fully supports the objectives of the SUPD. Reducing plastic leakage, preventing waste generation at source and protecting human health must remain central to EU environmental policy. Plastic items consistently rank among the most commonly found objects in marine litter, and once released into the environment, plastics fragment into microplastics, creating long-term contamination risks that are costly and complex to address. The urgency of tackling these impacts remains unchanged. 

The SUPD has also shown that ambitious regulation can stimulate innovation. By restricting specific single-use plastic products in the public interest, the Directive has accelerated the development and scaling of alternative materials. A new generation of companies, represented in the Natural Polymers Group, is producing non-plastic solutions based on unmodified natural polymers derived from seaweed, agricultural residues, plant proteins and other non-food biomass streams. These materials are increasingly replacing single-use plastic products in applications such as cutlery, straws, beverage stirrers and food and beverage containers. Europe and the UK currently hold a technological leadership position in this field. Regulatory certainty has been instrumental in unlocking investment and industrial scale-up, and the revision of the SUPD should build on this success by strengthening clarity and consistency.