The Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Act 2023

1 Key concepts: “plastic product”, “single-use” and “plastic”

(1) This section defines certain key concepts for the purposes of this Act.

(2) A “plastic product” is a product—

(a) of which all or any of the main structural components are made wholly or partly of plastic, or

(b) that has a lining or coating made wholly or partly of plastic.

(3) “Single-use”, in relation to a plastic product, means a product that is not designed or manufactured to be used for the purpose for which it was designed or manufactured more than once (or on more than one occasion) before being disposed of.

(4) “Plastic” means a material consisting of a polymer, other than an adhesive, paint or ink, and includes a material consisting of a polymer‍ that has other substances added to it.

(5) In subsection (4), the reference to “polymer”—

(a) means a polymer that can function as the main structural component of a product;

(b) does not include a natural polymer that has not been chemically modified.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (3), a carrier bag is deemed to have been designed to be used to carry goods more than once before being disposed of unless it is made of plastic film no greater than 49 microns in thickness (in which case it is considered to be a plastic product that is single-use).