Reducing marine pollution from single-use plastics (SUPs): A review.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Policy Analysis
• Marine Biology

Background:

• Single-use plastics (SUPs) are a major contributor to marine pollution.
• Public awareness and international efforts are increasing to address SUP pollution.
• Previous interventions focused on plastic bags and microbeads.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present new multi-jurisdictional legislative interventions for SUP reduction since 2017.
• To incorporate emerging non-legislative interventions at individual and private-sector levels.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of different SUP bag interventions.

Main Methods:

• Review of multi-jurisdictional legislative data on SUPs post-2017.
• Analysis of emerging non-legislative intervention strategies.
• Comparative assessment of SUP bag interventions (bans vs. levies).

Main Results:

• New legislative and non-legislative interventions have emerged to mitigate SUP pollution.
• Interventions complement or influence legislative actions.
• SUP bag interventions, such as bans or levies, achieved 33–96% reduction in bag use.

Conclusions:

• Multi-faceted interventions are crucial for reducing single-use plastic marine pollution.
• Both legislative and non-legislative approaches are effective.
• Policy interventions significantly decrease the use of SUP bags.