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

Single-use plastics, or SUPs (plastic bags, microbeads, cutlery, straws and polystyrene) are substantial sources of plastic marine pollution, yet preventable via legislative and non-legislative interventions. Various international legislative strategies have been reported to address plastic marine pollution from plastic bags and microbeads, but these have since been accompanied by recent increasing public awareness triggered by international agencies and organizations. The Sixth International Marine Debris Conference highlighted increasing intervention strategies to mitigate SUP pollution. This study presents new multi-jurisdictional legislative interventions to reduce SUPs since 2017 and incorporates emergence of new non-legislative interventions to mitigate other types of SUPs at individual and private-sector levels that complement or influence legislative interventions. Further, effectiveness of SUP bag interventions (e.g., bans vs. levies) to help reduce SUP marine pollution are presented and range between 33 and 96% reduction in bag use. [Display omitted] •Single use plastics (SUPs) contribute to 60-95% of global marine plastic pollution•Legislative (top-down) action to reduce SUPs is gaining momentum worldwide•Non-legislative (bottom-up) actions are also proliferating•Both legislative and non-legislative actions are effective and complimentary•Effectiveness of SUP bag reduction interventions vary depending on policy, ranging from 33–96%