This campaign is designed not just as an awareness initiative, but to be a collective effort across the retail sector – one that highlights the progress already made, reminds retailers of their legislative obligations around the 10 banned Single-Use Plastic items and reinforces retailers’ commitment to sustainable practices and compliance.
Campaign Overview
The campaign will run from 20th April to 3rd May 2026, and aims to:
- Support retailers in understanding and complying with existing SUP legislation
- Reinforce the removal of the 10 banned single-use plastic items from sale and supply
- Promote the adoption of sustainable alternatives across the retail supply chain
- Showcase the retail sector’s leadership and ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility
We know from our research that the majority of retailers are already doing the right thing, and this campaign is about removing the banned SUPs from the Irish marketplace.
We encourage members to make use of MyWaste’s SUP inventory self-audit
This will help to ensure that any of the 10 banned SUPs in stock are identified and removed, while encouraging your members to use sustainable alternatives listed in the inventory checklist – SUP Toolkit Preview-V3.
The campaign focuses on the 10 banned single-use plastic items:
- Plastic cutlery (forks, knives, spoons)
- Plastic chopsticks
- Plastic plates
- Plastic straws
- Plastic drink stirrers
- Plastic balloon sticks / rods
- Plastic cotton bud sticks
- *Expanded polystyrene drinks containers
- Expanded polystyrene food containers
- **Oxo-degradable plastic products
*Expanded polystyrene is commonly known as foam or “Styrofoam” – classically takeaway containers.
**Oxo-degradable plastics are conventional plastics containing additives that accelerate fragmentation, not degrading.
The Regional Waste Management Planning Office’s (RWMPOs) role in this campaign is to raise awareness and understanding among retailers by supporting their engagement with practical actions and legislative compliance.
