Most buyers of paper cups, bagasse boxes, paper straws and wooden cutlery are switching because of a plastic rule, or because their customers expect them to. The problem is that “single-use plastic” means something different in each market, the deadlines are staggered, and a product sold as eco-friendly can still be “partly plastic” in law because of a lining, a coating or a lid.

This article sets out what we confirmed in the primary texts for the European Union, Vietnam and Japan, plus how the EU and the United States treat compostable and biodegradable claims. For the products themselves, see our guides to paper cups, bagasse containers and paper straws and wooden cutlery.

💬 Need to know whether your cup, box or straw is caught by a plastic rule in your market? Send us the product structure and where it will be sold, and we will check it with you before you order. Ask us about your products.

The rules at a glance

The EU bans some single-use plastic items outright and restricts others, Vietnam is phasing out production and import of single-use plastic products after 2030, and Japan requires certain businesses to cut the plastic items they give away.

Checked against the published texts on 26 October 2026.

MarketInstrumentWhat it does for food service itemsKey dates
EUDirective (EU) 2019/904Bans placing on the market of plastic cutlery, plates, straws, stirrers and expanded polystyrene food and drink containers and cups; requires reduction of plastic cups and food containers; marking on plastic cupsBans and marking from 3 July 2021
EURegulation (EU) 2025/40Restricts single-use plastic packaging for food and drink consumed on the premises in the hospitality sector, and single-use plastic condiment portions thereFrom 1 January 2030
VietnamDecree 08/2022/ND-CP, Article 64Stop to production and import of single-use plastic products after 31 December 2030, with exceptions; no circulation in shopping centres, supermarkets, hotels and tourist areas after 20251 January 2026 and 31 December 2030
JapanAct on Promotion of Resource Circulation for PlasticsBusinesses in listed sectors giving away mainly plastic cutlery, stirrers and straws must take reduction measuresIn force since 1 April 2022

Other markets, including individual US states, have their own rules that we did not verify here; confirm the current rule wherever you sell.

EU: what counts as plastic

The EU directive covers products made “wholly or partly from plastic”, and its definition of plastic excludes only natural polymers that have not been chemically modified, so bio-based and biodegradable plastics are still plastic.

Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2019/904 defines plastic as a polymer that can function as a main structural component of a final product, excluding only natural polymers that have not been chemically modified. The recitals confirm that bio-based and biodegradable plastics are covered, and that paints, inks and adhesives are not.

For buyers, this means:

  • a paper cup with a polyethylene or PLA lining is partly plastic
  • a paper straw is outside the ban if it contains no plastic; a plastic coating would change that
  • plain wood cutlery is made of a natural polymer; a polymer coating is a question to check
  • a bagasse container with a plastic film or coating may be partly plastic

Read the Commission’s guidelines on single-use plastic products and your Member State’s transposing law before you decide that a coating is not plastic.

EU: bans, reduction and marking

Since 3 July 2021, Member States must prohibit placing on the market the plastic items in Part B of the directive’s Annex, and plastic beverage cups must carry a marking.

Article 5 and Part B of the Annex list the banned items. The food service items are:

  • cutlery (forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks)
  • plates
  • straws (with a medical-device exception)
  • beverage stirrers
  • food containers, beverage containers and cups for beverages made of expanded polystyrene, including their caps, covers and lids

Products made from oxo-degradable plastic are banned too.

Article 4 requires Member States to achieve a measurable reduction in consumption of the items in Part A, which include beverage cups with their covers and lids and food containers for immediate consumption, by 2026 compared with 2022. Each Member State chooses its own measures, such as reduction targets, reusable alternatives at the point of sale or charging for the items, so check the law where you sell.

Under Article 7 and Part D, beverage cups that are single-use plastic products must carry a conspicuous, legible and indelible marking about waste management and the presence of plastic, following harmonised specifications set by the Commission. A lined paper cup is in scope because it is partly plastic. Ask your factory to apply the marking in the specified form and position before artwork is final.

EU: the packaging regulation from 2030

From 1 January 2030, the EU packaging regulation restricts single-use plastic packaging for food and drink filled and consumed on the premises in the hospitality sector; how far it reaches plastic-lined paper is still to be clarified.

Article 25 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 provides that, from 1 January 2030, economic operators may not place on the market packaging in the formats and for the uses listed in Annex V. Two entries matter most for food service:

Annex V pointRestricted useExamples given in the Annex
3Single-use plastic packaging for food and drink filled and consumed within the premises in the HORECA sector (establishments without access to drinking water are exempted)Trays, disposable plates and cups, bags, boxes
4Single-use plastic packaging in HORECA containing individual portions of condiments, preserves, sauces, coffee creamer, sugar and seasoning, with exceptions for take-away food and medical care settingsSachets, tubs, trays, boxes

Point 3 is worded for food and drink consumed on the premises, not take-away, and Member States may exempt micro-enterprises in limited cases.

The regulation’s definition of plastic differs slightly from the directive’s: it refers to a polymer “capable of functioning as a main structural component of packaging”. Whether a paper cup with a thin plastic lining, or a fibre box with a plastic coating, counts as single-use plastic packaging under Annex V is not settled by the text alone. The Commission must publish guidelines on Annex V, with examples, by 12 February 2027; check them before you plan a dine-in range for 2030.

The same regulation sets PFAS limits for food-contact packaging from 12 August 2026, explained in our article on food-contact compliance for eco packaging.

💬 Planning an EU range that will still be usable after 2030? We can source fibre-based and reusable alternatives side by side so you can compare them on the same brief. Tell us about your range.

Vietnam: Decree 08/2022, Article 64

Vietnam’s decree on environmental protection sets a phase-out path: no small non-biodegradable plastic bags from 2026, no single-use plastic products in major retail and tourism venues after 2025, and a stop to production and import after 2030.

We read Article 64 in the consolidated text of Decree 08/2022/ND-CP published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (No. 49/VBHN-BNNMT of 17 April 2026), which incorporates amendments up to Decree 110/2026/ND-CP.

  • From 1 January 2026, non-biodegradable plastic bags smaller than 50 cm x 50 cm with a single film layer thinner than 50 µm may not be produced or imported, except for export or for packing goods sold on the market (Article 64(1)).
  • After 31 December 2030, production and import stop for single-use plastic products (except those certified with the Vietnam Ecolabel), non-biodegradable plastic packaging (including non-biodegradable plastic bags and foam boxes for food) and products containing microplastics, with exceptions for production for export and for packaging used to pack goods sold on the market (Article 64(3)).
  • After 2025, provincial authorities must ensure single-use plastic products and non-biodegradable plastic packaging are not circulated or used in shopping centres, supermarkets, hotels and tourist areas, except goods packed in such packaging (Article 64(4)).
  • Article 64(2) still refers producers and importers to recycling and treatment responsibilities “under this Decree”. Chapter VI of Decree 08/2022, which set those responsibilities out, was repealed by Article 22(2) of Decree 110/2026/ND-CP from 25 May 2026. Under Decree 110/2026, single-use plastic products such as food containers, cups, cutlery and straws are listed in Appendix II (point 6.1) for a financial contribution to waste treatment; producers and importers whose turnover from Appendix II products is below VND 30 billion a year are exempt.

The decree defines single-use plastic products (Article 3(14)) as trays, food containers, bowls, chopsticks, cups, cutlery, straws and other eating utensils “with a plastic component” designed to be used once. Whether a lined paper cup counts depends on that phrase; ask the provincial authority before relying on a product being outside the rule.

Japan: the plastics resource circulation act

Japan does not ban single-use plastic cutlery, but businesses in listed sectors that give away mainly plastic forks, spoons, knives, stirrers and straws must take measures to reduce them, and large providers can receive recommendations and orders.

The Act on Promotion of Resource Circulation for Plastics took effect on 1 April 2022. Under Article 28, the competent ministers set criteria for the measures that “specified plastic product providers” should take. Article 5 of the Cabinet Order defines the products and sectors:

Products (given free with goods or services, mainly plastic)Sectors
Forks, spoons, table knives, stirrers and drinking strawsGeneral merchandise retail, food and drink retail (with some exclusions), accommodation, restaurants, take-away and delivery food services
Hairbrushes, combs, razors, shower caps, toothbrushesAccommodation
Clothes hangers and garment coversGeneral merchandise retail, laundries

A provider that gave away 5 tonnes or more of these products in the previous financial year (Cabinet Order, Article 6) can receive a recommendation if its efforts are markedly insufficient, be named publicly, and then be ordered to act (Article 30 of the Act). The Act does not tell you which material to switch to.

Environmental claims need evidence

“Compostable”, “biodegradable” and “plastic-free” are claims that need evidence meeting the rules where the product is sold, and both the EU and the US set conditions on them.

In the EU, Regulation (EU) 2025/40 defines compostable packaging as packaging that biodegrades in industrially controlled conditions, “but not necessarily in a home-composting environment”. Article 9 limits which packaging must or may be compostable, and requires other packaging, including packaging of biodegradable plastic polymers, to be designed for material recycling from 12 February 2028. From 12 August 2028, or later depending on implementing acts, compostable packaging must be labelled to show that it is compostable, not suitable for home composting and not to be discarded in nature (Article 12).

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides say a marketer claiming an item is compostable should have competent and reliable scientific evidence that all its materials will break down into usable compost in a safe and timely manner, and should qualify the claim where the item cannot be home-composted or where composting facilities are not available to a substantial majority of consumers (16 CFR 260.7). For degradable and biodegradable claims, an unqualified claim is deceptive for items entering the solid waste stream if they do not completely decompose within one year after customary disposal (16 CFR 260.8).

In practice, ask for test reports against a named standard, or a certification, for the exact finished product including any lining or coating. A factory brochure is not evidence.

Frequently asked questions

1. Are paper cups banned in the EU?
No. Expanded polystyrene cups are banned. A lined paper cup is partly plastic, so the reduction and marking rules reach it.

2. Are PLA or other bioplastic straws allowed in the EU?
The directive’s definition of plastic includes bio-based and biodegradable plastics, so a PLA straw is a plastic straw. Confirm your Member State’s transposing law.

3. When does Vietnam stop imports of single-use plastic products?
After 31 December 2030, under Article 64(3) of Decree 08/2022/ND-CP, with exceptions including products certified with the Vietnam Ecolabel.

4. Does Japan ban plastic cutlery?
No. Businesses in listed sectors that give away mainly plastic cutlery, stirrers and straws must take reduction measures.

5. Can I print “biodegradable” on my packaging?
Only with evidence that meets the rules where it is sold. In the US, an unqualified degradable claim is deceptive for items entering the solid waste stream unless they fully decompose within one year after customary disposal.

Summary

Check three things for every eco product: whether any component is plastic in law, which dated rule applies in your market, and whether you have evidence for every environmental claim on the pack.

Sunsho Trade is a trading company, not a factory. We find and vet factories in Asia for fibre-based and other alternatives, collect the material breakdowns and test reports, and arrange samples, inspection and export.

💬 Ready to source alternatives that fit your market’s rules? See our eco food packaging service, or send us your product list and we will come back with factory options.

Sources

Checked on 26 October 2026. EU texts were read in the Official Journal versions published through the EU Publications Office.