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The UK government implemented a tax on plastic packaging that does not contain at least 30% recycled content. The tax, which is scheduled to take effect in April 2022, is intended to encourage the use of recycled plastic and increase demand for recycled plastic. Additional information on the tax is available here

Prior to the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19, a number of jurisdictions announced single-use plastic bag bans (see the Packaginglaw.com article, More states Ban Single-Use Plastic Bags, for more information). Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the health implications of these bans are being questioned.

On February 4, 2020, the District of Columbia’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment voted to pass the Polystyrene Food Service and Loose Fill Packaging Prohibition Amendment Act of 2019, B23-0191. All twelve members of the committee voted in favor of the bill. Mayor Muriel Bowser first sent the bill to Phil Mendelson, Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia, for consideration on March 14, 2019 and Mendelson introduced it to the DC Council the same day.

On June 2, 2019, the European Parliament and Council adopted the Single-Use Plastics Directive, (EU) 2019/904, on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment.

After the Ban

The Circular Economy and Pollution Reduction Act, SB-54/AB-1080, did not pass the California State Legislature before the 2019/2020 legislative session ended on September 13, 2019.

The final text of San Francisco’s Plastic, Litter, and Toxics Reduction Law clarifies that a ban on fluorinated chemicals in food service items, which became effective in 2020, only applies to food service items that are compostable. The law states, “No person may sell, offer for sale, or otherwise Distribute within the City… (4) beginning January 1, 2020, any Food Service Ware that is Compostable and not Fluorinated Chemical Free.” (SF Municipal Code, Chapter 16 (“Food Service and Packaging Waste Reduction Ordinance,” Section 1603).

What Types of Plastic Bags are Banned in Panama?

Concerning Panama’s ban on polyethylene shopping bags that recently became effective, is the legislation enforced at the store or customs level...

U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) plan to introduce legislation in the fall aimed at reducing plastic waste. The legislation will include phase-out requirements for certain single-use products, extended producer responsibility (EPR) initiatives, and deposit or charge requirements at point-of-purchase.

Over the last several months, legislatures in Vermont, Maine, Oregon, Delaware, Connecticut, and New York passed bills that include bans on single-use plastic bags. Prior to the 2018/19 legislative session, only California had enacted a statewide single-use plastic bags ban; although, single-use plastic bags are banned in all counties in Hawaii.