Regulation of plastic from a circular economy perspective

Plastic pollution is one of the major global environmental challenges and is therefore attracting increased societal attention. This has resulted in the adoption of a long array of national and international policies, targeting plastic pollution. Whereas early plastic pollution regulation focused mainly on banning specific plastic products such as plastic bags, more recent focus has been devoted to the full plastic value chain. The aim of this focus is to facilitate a transition towards a circular plastic economy. This review first describes the historical development of policy initiatives targeting plastic pollution, followed by a review of key legislations at each step of the plastic value chain. Finally, the review introduces policy measures most often used since 2018 to target plastic pollution and discuss the importance of regulation that facilitate the transition towards a circular plastic economy.