--- title: "We sell single-use plastic products" description: "The Single-Use Plastics Directive (EU) 2019/904 requires Member States to ban plastic cutlery, plates, straws, stirrers, balloon sticks, expanded polystyrene food and drink containers and all products of oxo-degradable plastic. Other items need tethered caps, a harmonised marking or extended producer responsibility, set in national law. Check each product against the Directive's Annex, then the rules of every country you sell to." type: "problem" url: "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/single-use-plastic/" markdown: "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/single-use-plastic.md" locale: "en" language: "en" updated: "2026-10-04" author: "Conphora compliance team" publisher: "Conphora" source: "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02019L0904-20260812" tags: ["PPWR", "sustainability-claims"] license: "Free to quote with attribution and a link to the page" --- # We sell single-use plastic products The Single-Use Plastics Directive (EU) 2019/904 requires Member States to ban plastic cutlery, plates, straws, stirrers, balloon sticks, expanded polystyrene food and drink containers and all products of oxo-degradable plastic. Other items need tethered caps, a harmonised marking or extended producer responsibility, set in national law. Check each product against the Directive's Annex, then the rules of every country you sell to. ## Why this happens The Single-Use Plastics Directive, Directive (EU) 2019/904, applies to the single-use plastic products listed in its Annex, to products made from oxo-degradable plastic and to fishing gear containing plastic (Article 2(1)). A single-use plastic product is a product made wholly or partly from plastic that is not conceived, designed or placed on the market to accomplish multiple trips or rotations by being returned for refill or reused for the same purpose (Article 3(2)). Plastic is a polymer material to which additives may have been added and which can function as a main structural component of final products; natural polymers that have not been chemically modified are excluded (Article 3(1)). [1] The directive works through separate measures per part of the Annex. Article 4 requires Member States to reduce consumption of the cups and food containers in Part A by 2026 compared with 2022. Article 5 bans the products in Part B and oxo-degradable plastic products. Article 6 requires caps and lids on beverage containers up to three litres to stay attached (Part C), and sets recycled content targets for PET and other beverage bottles in Part F, calculated as an average per Member State. Article 7 requires a conspicuous, legible and indelible marking on the products in Part D, informing consumers of waste management options and of the presence of plastic and the harm of littering. Article 8 sets up extended producer responsibility for the products in Part E. [1] The dates are in Article 17(1). Member States had to apply Article 5 and Article 7(1) from 3 July 2021, Article 6(1) from 3 July 2024 and Article 8 by 31 December 2024, or by 5 January 2023 for schemes set up before 4 July 2018 and for tobacco filters. The harmonised marking specifications are set by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2151, which covers sanitary towels and tampons, wet wipes, tobacco products with filters and beverage cups (Articles 1 and 2). [1][2] A producer is any person established in a Member State that professionally manufactures, fills, sells or imports and places these products on that Member State's market, and any person that sells them at a distance directly to users in another Member State (Article 3(11)). Producers established in one Member State and selling Part E products in another must appoint an authorised representative there (Article 8(7)). [1] The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2025/40, amended the directive from 12 August 2026. For single-use plastic packaging listed in point 3 of Annex V to that Regulation, its Article 25(1) and (6) prevail over Article 4 of the directive (Article 2(3)). Point 3 covers single-use plastic packaging for food and drinks filled and consumed within the premises in the hospitality sector; from 1 January 2030 such packaging may not be placed on the market, Member States may allow micro-enterprises a derogation where re-use is not technically feasible, and the Commission must publish guidelines on Annex V by 12 February 2027 (Regulation (EU) 2025/40 Article 25(1), (4) and (6) and Annex V). [1][3] ## How to solve it 1. **Check whether the item is plastic and single-use** Plastic means a polymer material, with additives, that can be a main structural component; natural polymers that are not chemically modified are excluded. Single-use means not designed to be returned for refill or reused for the same purpose. Products made only partly of plastic are included. 2. **Find the product in the parts of the Annex** Part B lists the banned products, Part C the beverage containers that need tethered caps, Part D the products that need a marking, Part E the products under extended producer responsibility and Part F the bottles with recycled content targets. One product can appear in several parts. 3. **Take banned products out of the range** Cotton bud sticks, cutlery, plates, straws, beverage stirrers, balloon sticks, and food containers, beverage containers and cups of expanded polystyrene may not be placed on the market, nor may any product made of oxo-degradable plastic. Cotton bud sticks and straws that fall under the medical device directives named in Part B are excepted, as are sticks for balloons for industrial or professional uses not distributed to consumers. 4. **Apply the cap and marking rules** Plastic caps and lids on beverage containers up to three litres must stay attached during use; glass and metal containers with plastic caps are not covered. Sanitary towels, tampons, wet wipes, tobacco filters and beverage cups need the harmonised marking set by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2151, on the packaging or on the product, in the official language of each Member State of sale. 5. **Register for producer responsibility in each country** Producers of Part E products pay for awareness measures, litter clean-up and, for some products, collection, through national schemes. If you sell at a distance directly to users in another Member State, you count as a producer there, and your home Member State must require you to appoint an authorised representative in that country. ## What you need to show - **A classification of each product against Parts A to G of the Annex** — Product management (Directive (EU) 2019/904 Articles 2(1) and 3(1)–(2) and the Annex) - **Marking artwork for Part D products** — The manufacturer or brand owner (Directive (EU) 2019/904 Article 7(1); Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2151) - **Producer responsibility registration in each Member State of sale** — The national scheme or competent authority (Directive (EU) 2019/904 Article 8) ## If you do nothing - **Banned products cannot be placed on the market** — Member States must prohibit placing on the market the single-use plastic products in Part B of the Annex and products made from oxo-degradable plastic, applied from 3 July 2021 (Directive (EU) 2019/904 Articles 5 and 17(1)). - **No tethered cap, no market** — Beverage containers in Part C with plastic caps and lids may be placed on the market only if the caps and lids remain attached during the intended use stage, applied from 3 July 2024 (Directive (EU) 2019/904 Articles 6(1) and 17(1)). - **Producer costs follow sales in each country** — Extended producer responsibility schemes cover the Part E products, and a producer established in one Member State that sells Part E products in another must appoint an authorised representative there (Directive (EU) 2019/904 Article 8(1) and (7)). - **Penalties are set nationally** — Member States lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for infringements of the national provisions adopted under the directive (Directive (EU) 2019/904 Article 14). ## Questions ### Are biodegradable or bio-based plastics exempt? The definition of plastic excludes only natural polymers that have not been chemically modified (Directive (EU) 2019/904 Article 3(1)). The directive defines biodegradable plastic (Article 3(16)), but the ban in Article 5 and Part B of the Annex makes no exception for it. ### We sell online into other countries. Are we a producer there? Yes, if you sell single-use plastic products by distance contract directly to households or other users in another Member State (Article 3(11)(b)). Each Member State allows producers from elsewhere to appoint a local authorised representative for producer responsibility (Article 8(6)). ### Why does national law matter? The Single-Use Plastics Directive is a directive, so its rules apply through national law. Member States choose the measures that reduce consumption of cups and food containers in Part A, and may restrict their marketing (Article 4(1)). Producer responsibility schemes are national (Article 8). ### What changed with the Packaging Regulation? Regulation (EU) 2025/40 amended the directive from 12 August 2026. Where the directive conflicts with Directive 94/62/EC or Directive 2008/98/EC, it prevails unless the Packaging Regulation provides otherwise. For single-use plastic packaging in point 3 of Annex V of that Regulation, for food and drinks filled and consumed on hospitality premises, its Article 25(1) and (6) prevail over Article 4 (Article 2(2) and (3)). Article 25(1) restricts those formats from 1 January 2030. ## Regulations involved PPWR ## Sources 1. [Directive (EU) 2019/904 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment (consolidated text of 12 August 2026)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02019L0904-20260812) — EUR-Lex, 2026-10-04 2. [Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2151 on harmonised marking specifications for single-use plastic products](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32020R2151) — EUR-Lex, 2026-10-04 3. [Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32025R0040) — EUR-Lex, 2026-10-04