TL;DR
A written statement published on 11 February 2026 by the Deputy First Minister says it is no longer viable to enact the remaining Phase 2 bans this Senedd term. Those bans would cover polystyrene lids for cups or takeaway food containers, single-use carrier bags and oxo-degradable plastic products. The Welsh Government says it remains committed to them. One dated change is still fixed: from 18 December 2026 the Act restricts the supply of wet wipes containing plastic. Section 3 of the Act keeps the power to add products to the prohibited list, subject to consultation.
Anyone planning bar service in Wales for 2027 has been waiting on the same question since the first bans landed: what comes next, and when. As of February 2026 there is an answer, and it is a pause rather than a date.
What the statement says
On 11 February 2026, Huw Irranca-Davies, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, published a written statement updating the Senedd on the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Act 2023. The operative sentence is that "it is no longer viable to agree and enact an exclusion under UKIMA in time to implement the remaining 'Phase 2 bans' this Senedd term".
UKIMA is the UK Internal Market Act. A Welsh prohibition on goods that can be sold lawfully elsewhere in Great Britain runs into that Act unless an exclusion is agreed, and the statement ties the delay to the UK Government's own review of UKIMA, which made the Common Frameworks the mechanism for agreeing such an exclusion. The same statement says the Welsh Government remains committed to seeing "polystyrene lids for cups or takeaway food containers, plastic single-use carrier bags or products made of oxo-degradable plastic" banned.
So the products are named, the intention is restated, and the date is gone.
What is still dated
One item in the same statement does carry a date: "From 18 December 2026, the SUPP Act will also restrict the supply of wet wipes containing plastic." That is not a cup question, but it is the part of the Act still moving on a published timetable, and it is worth separating from the part that is not.
What this changes for cups
Very little in the short term, which is the useful part of the answer. The Phase 2 list covers polystyrene lids, carrier bags and oxo-degradable products. It does not add ordinary single-use plastic drinks cups to the prohibited list. The position on what is already prohibited in Wales, England and Scotland is set out in our article on what the UK single-use plastic rules ban, and the statement of 11 February 2026 does not disturb it.
What the pause does change is planning. A venue that had assumed a further Welsh ban would arrive inside this Senedd term now has a longer runway, and a supplier who had been asked to phase something out on that assumption has one too.
The power has not gone away
Section 3 of the Act is titled "Prohibited single-use plastic products: power to amend". It provides that the Welsh Ministers may by regulations amend the Schedule "to add a product to, or remove a product from, column 1 of the Table in paragraph 1", and to add, remove or amend exemptions and definitions.
That power is not open-ended in practice. Before making such regulations the Welsh Ministers must consult local authorities, the Natural Resources Body for Wales and bodies concerned with environmental protection, representatives of producers or suppliers of single-use plastic products, representatives of people with protected characteristics who may be particularly affected, and any other persons they think appropriate.
The practical reading for a buyer: a change here would be preceded by the consultation the section requires, which is an earlier signal than the commencement date itself. Neither source sets out how long that consultation would run.
What to do with a two-year cup decision
A prohibition that slips a Senedd term is a poor foundation for a purchase, in either direction. The steadier argument for reusables in Wales is the one that does not depend on a ban: cups that are washed and served again rather than bought each season, with the washing and collection handled if you would rather not do it yourself.
If that is the direction, the reusable event cups here are the format most Welsh venues run, and cup hire covers the events that would rather not own stock at all. If single use is the practical answer for a one-day event, printed paper cups take the same artwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are single-use plastic cups banned in Wales?
The Phase 2 products named in the Welsh Government's statement of 11 February 2026 are polystyrene lids for cups or takeaway food containers, single-use carrier bags and oxo-degradable plastic products. Ordinary single-use plastic drinks cups are not on that list. What is already prohibited across the UK is set out in our article on the UK single-use plastic rules.
When will the Welsh Phase 2 bans come into force?
No date is published. The written statement of 11 February 2026 says it is no longer viable to agree and enact an exclusion under the UK Internal Market Act in time to implement the remaining Phase 2 bans this Senedd term, while restating the commitment to them.
What is UKIMA and why does it matter here?
UKIMA is the UK Internal Market Act. The Welsh Government's statement frames the delay around agreeing an exclusion under that Act, which is the mechanism by which a Welsh prohibition can apply to goods that may be sold lawfully elsewhere in Great Britain.
What is still changing under the Welsh Act?
The same statement says that from 18 December 2026 the Act will also restrict the supply of wet wipes containing plastic.
Could cups be added to the Welsh prohibited list later?
Section 3 of the Act lets the Welsh Ministers amend the Schedule by regulations to add or remove a product. Before doing so they must consult local authorities, the Natural Resources Body for Wales and environmental bodies, producer and supplier representatives, and representatives of people with protected characteristics who may be particularly affected.
How we checked this article
Checked on 6 September 2026 against the written statement published on GOV.WALES on 11 February 2026 by Huw Irranca-Davies, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, for the position on the Phase 2 bans, the products they cover and the wet wipes date, against section 3 of the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Act 2023 on legislation.gov.uk for the power to amend the Schedule and the consultation the Welsh Ministers must carry out before using it, and against the Schedule of the same Act for the current Phase 1 list, which confirms that only cups made of expanded or foamed polystyrene are prohibited today and that ordinary single-use plastic drinks cups, carrier bags and polystyrene lids remain outside the current ban. A web search against independent reporting (BRC, RECOUP, Senedd coverage of the 17 June 2026 wet wipes vote) found no statement, consultation or regulation published after 11 February 2026 that changes the Phase 2 position described here. The statement is quoted rather than paraphrased where it sets the position, and the author's title is given in full as the source gives it.
- Published by
- Branded Cups Ltd
- Sources last checked
- 2026-09-06
Sources
- GOV.WALES, Written Statement: update on implementing the Single-use Plastic Products (Wales) Act 2023, Phase 2 bans (11 February 2026)
- Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Act 2023, section 3
- Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Act 2023, Schedule (prohibited products table)
