Single-use, the term used to describe products that are manufactured to be used just once before being thrown away, has been named as Collins Dictionary's word of the year for 2018.
The term often refers to plastics and has been a talking point for much of the year with new laws and rulings being put into place to reduce the amount of plastic that is filtering through the environment and finding its way into our oceans and even our bodies.
EU parliament recently backed a ban on single-use plastics such as straws, disposable plates and bottles, and cutlery, one that is expected to come into effect in the year 2021. Here in the UK, the government is also planning the introduction of taxes on plastic packaging.
Single-use is a term that we have, inevitably, covered across several reports on packaging trends and more on our trendhub. In our February drinkswatching report we covered the changes in use of straws - read the report here - and in another report we covered the sustainability of your morning coffee - read the Eco-Coffee report here.