Tackling Plastic Pollution
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TACKLING PLASTIC POLLUTION: Legislative Guide for the Regulation of Single-Use Plastic Products First published by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2020 Copyright © 2020 United Nations Environment Programme ISBN No: 978-92-807-3853-7 Job No: DEL/2351/NA This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit services without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. UN Environment Programme would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from UN Environment Programme. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Communication Division, UN Environment Programme, P. O. Box 30552, Nairobi 00100, Kenya. 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TACKLING PLASTIC POLLUTION: Legislative Guide for the Regulation of Single-Use Plastic Products ii Table of Contents Abbreviations .........................................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements ...............................................................................................................................vi Executive summary .............................................................................................................................viii 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1 1.1. About the guide .............................................................................................................................................2 1.2. Caveats and limitations .................................................................................................................................3 1.3. Methodology ..................................................................................................................................................4 2. Key considerations in drafting legislation on single-use plastics .......................................................6 2.1. Developing legislation on single-use plastic ..................................................................................................7 Establish a baseline ..............................................................................................................................................7 Consider the objectives and policymaking principles ...........................................................................................7 Select the appropriate regulatory approach or combination of approaches ..........................................................9 Engage in transparent and diverse consultations ...............................................................................................10 2.2. Legal drafting considerations ......................................................................................................................12 Definitions ..........................................................................................................................................................12 Transparency ......................................................................................................................................................12 Roles and responsibilities ...................................................................................................................................12 3. Regulatory approaches ...................................................................................................................14 3.1. Bans and restrictions ...................................................................................................................................15 Single-use plastic products to be targeted .........................................................................................................15 Material composition ..............................................................................................................................................................15 Activities to be targeted ...............................................................................................................................18 Exemptions ..................................................................................................................................................18 Alternatives ...............................................................................................................................................................................19 Alternative plastics ..................................................................................................................................................................19 Alternative (non-plastic) materials ..............................................................................................................21 Phase-out periods and effective dates ........................................................................................................21 Enforcement and penalties ..........................................................................................................................22 Implementation challenges and unintended impacts ..................................................................................23 3.2. Economic instruments .................................................................................................................................24 Taxes ...........................................................................................................................................................24 Point of charge .........................................................................................................................................................................25 Taxed and exempted products ..............................................................................................................................................26 Unit to be taxed ........................................................................................................................................................................26 Tax rate ......................................................................................................................................................................................26 Enforcement and compliance ...............................................................................................................................................27 Use and management of revenues ......................................................................................................................................28 Implementation considerations and challenges and unintended impacts ...................................................................28 Tax breaks, subsidies and other fiscal incentives ..............................................................................................................29 3.3. Standards, certification and labelling ..........................................................................................................31 Standards relating to consumer safety and environmental protection ................................................................31 Criteria and specifications .....................................................................................................................................................31 Certification ..............................................................................................................................................................................31 Labelling or marking................................................................................................................................................................33 Enforcement and compliance ...............................................................................................................................................35 Implementation challenges and unintended impacts ..........................................................................................36 3.4. Post-consumer use and product end of life .................................................................................................37 Waste management legislation ...........................................................................................................................37 Prevention and minimization of single-use plastic waste ................................................................................................37 Collection, separation and recovery of single-use plastic waste ....................................................................................37