44% of Irish businesses are not aware that certain single use plastics are now banned, new research has found.
45% of firms also continue to offer at least one of those banned items to consumers for sale or use, the survey of more than 713 organisations discovered.
50% of consumers also say they often receive single-use plastics with take-away orders that they have not asked for.
Nearly a third of the 1,000 people surveyed also claim to have seen plastic cutlery on sale or available for use in the past month,
A similar percentage say they have seen plastic cotton bud sticks and plastic straws.
Takeaways and restaurants generate the most single use plastic, 29% of people think, followed by party shops and supermarkets.
In 2021 and EU Directive banned the supply of 10 single use plastic items, such as plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery and cotton bud sticks as well as oxo-degradable products.
"Single Use plastics can take hundreds of years to degrade," said Will Mitchell, spokesperson for MyWaste.ie, which conducted the research.
"They end up in landfills, waterways, and oceans, where they harm wildlife and pollute our environment."
"While many countries including Ireland have taken steps to ban or reduce the use of single use plastics, what our research found is that banned single use plastics continue to be a problem in Ireland."
"That's why MyWaste.ie is calling on consumers and businesses alike to say no to illegal single use plastics and help create a cleaner, healthier planet for future generations."
On a more positive note though, 84% of businesses are now offering non-plastic alternative items for sale or use.
While 84% of consumers said they are making a conscious effort to avoid using single use plastics.
