Between 1950 and 20​17, around 9 billion tonnes of plastic were produced—more than a tonne for every person alive today. Globally, one of the most common policy responses to increasing plastic pollution has been to ban a small number of single-use ​plastic (​SUP) consumer products.

In NSW, a number of ​​such bans, including on lightweight bags, straws and cutlery, were introduced by the Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021 under the 2021 NS​W Plastics Action Plan. Further bans were proposed by the NSW Government in October 2023, including on takeaw​ay cups, plastic cigarette filters and heavyweight plastic bags.

This paper examines the role of SUP bans in addressing plastic pollution, outlines current debates on how to replace banned SUP products, and compares SUP bans in international and Australian jurisdictions.