A crackdown on single-use plastics has been launched. In oceans, rivers and formerly romantic landscapes, mountains of disgusting rubbish float or stand. Even though the plastics people know that it is not the plastic but man who is to blame, they are forced to accept that some of the most convenient and hygienic products have to be abandoned and that less convenient but less littering solutions for consumers have to be found. New EU directives to phase out or eventually ban single-use plastic products have accelerated this process. Below, we present the Directives and give an overview of how Member States are approaching this latest exercise in their homework.