Is bubble wrap banned in 2027? India, the EU, the UK, Australia and New Zealand checked

No. Bubble wrap is not banned in India, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand. Neither are air pillows. Nothing I found in any of the five changes that in 2027.

Checked against official sources on 28 October 2026.

What does change in 2027 is the cost and the paperwork around plastic cushioning. India raises its recycled plastic target. The UK raises its plastic tax. UK packaging fees rise for packs that are hard to recycle.

I have gone through the actual lists, not the news headlines. I have linked each one so you can check it yourself.

A quick disclosure. We make air cushion systems and paper cushioning in Jaipur. So we sell both sides of this argument, and we have no reason to scare you away from plastic or towards it.

We also export to 20+ countries, so these lists matter to our own shipments as much as to yours.

Why do people think bubble wrap is banned?

Because "plastic ban" headlines travel faster than the notifications behind them.

In India, the confusion usually comes from the 2022 list of banned single-use items. It does ban some wrapping film. But only the film around three specific things, and bubble wrap is not one of them.

People read "wrapping film" in a headline and assume the rest. I understand why. The real list is short, but few people open it.

India: not on the ban list

India's single-use plastic ban started on 1 July 2022. It sits in Rule 4 of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, added by notification G.S.R. 571(E) in August 2021. You can read the consolidated rules on the UNEP law database.

The banned items are:

1. Ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks and ice-cream sticks.
2. Polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration.
3. Plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, straws, trays and stirrers.
4. Wrapping or packing film around sweet boxes, invitation cards and cigarette packets.
5. Plastic or PVC banners under 100 microns.

Bubble wrap and air pillows are not on it.

Note item 4 carefully. It bans the outer film on those three products only. Note item 2 too: thermocol for decoration is banned, not thermocol used to protect goods in a carton.

There is also a thickness rule. The same rule says plastic sheet used for packaging or wrapping a commodity must be at least 50 microns thick, unless the Central Government specifies otherwise. Bubble film made to IS 12787, the Indian standard, has a composite thickness of at least 150 microns by default. Our guide to bubble wrap grades explains that standard.

The rule does not name air pillows or bubble wrap. If you buy very thin film, ask your supplier to state the thickness in microns on the invoice and keep it on file.

Two cautions. Some states have issued their own, wider notifications over the years, so check with your State Pollution Control Board.

And "not banned" does not mean "not regulated". The rules define plastic packaging as material used for protecting, storing and transporting products. Bubble wrap and air pillows fit that definition, so they come under EPR. From 1 April 2027, obligated brand owners must use 20% recycled plastic across this category, up from 10%. Our article on recycled content in air pillows and bubble wrap covers what that means.

European Union: six formats go in 2030, and bubble wrap is not one

The EU's packaging regulation, Regulation (EU) 2025/40, bans six packaging formats from 1 January 2030. They are listed in its Annex V:

1. Single-use plastic grouped packaging, such as shrink film used to sell several cans or tins as a multipack.
2. Single-use plastic packs for under 1.5 kg of fresh fruit and vegetables.
3. Single-use plastic packaging for food and drink consumed inside restaurants, cafes and hotels.
4. Single-use plastic portions of sauces, sugar, creamer and similar in the same places.
5. Single-use hotel miniatures of shampoo, lotion and soap.
6. Very lightweight plastic carrier bags.

Protective packaging is not on the list. Bubble wrap, air pillows and plastic mailers can all still be used after 2030.

Two other EU rules do touch them:

1. From 2030, air pillows, bubble wrap and every other void fill count as empty space when the EU checks whether a shipping box is at most 50% empty. Our guide to void fill and the EU empty space rule explains it.
2. From 1 January 2030 at the earliest, plastic packaging that is not a drinks bottle and not contact-sensitive (food, medicine and the like) must contain at least 35% post-consumer recycled plastic. That rises to 65% by 2040 (Article 7).

One detail most summaries skip. Article 7(3) says recycled plastic from outside the EU counts only if it was collected and recycled under standards equivalent to the EU's. So an Indian supplier's recycled content will need proof, not just a percentage on a datasheet.

United Kingdom: not banned, but taxed

England's single-use plastics rules ban drinks stirrers, balloon sticks, cutlery and polystyrene food and drink containers, and restrict plates, bowls, trays, straws and cotton buds. That is the list in the gov.uk guidance on single-use plastics (updated October 2024). Protective packaging is not on it.

What the UK does have is the Plastic Packaging Tax. It applies to plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled plastic, made in or imported into the UK by a business that handles 10 tonnes or more in 12 months.

1. The rate is GBP 228.82 a tonne from 1 April 2026.
2. Budget 2026 announced GBP 236.56 a tonne from 1 April 2027. It becomes law through the Finance Bill, so treat it as announced, not final. The figure is in the Budget 2026 rates annex from HM Treasury and HMRC (October 2026).
3. From the same date, pre-consumer plastic (factory scrap) stops counting as recycled plastic for the 30% test.

If you export goods to the UK, note this. The HMRC guidance on exempt packaging exempts transport packaging such as pallet wrap and straps on imported goods. It does not exempt normal packaging around the product, or unfilled packaging.

Bubble wrap around a product in an order box is usually the first kind, so your UK importer counts it. We would plan for that.

The UK's packaging EPR scheme also names bubble wrap and mail bags as examples of shipment packaging sent to consumers. Under its rating rules, both the 2026 version and the new RAM 2027, flexible plastic is rated red unless it goes through a take-back scheme that meets the RAM evidence rules. Red packs pay 1.6 times the base disposal fee in 2027-28. Our article on UK EPR and bubble-lined mailers works through those fees.

Australia: the state bans are on polystyrene

There is no national ban on bubble wrap or air pillows. At their meeting of 18 September 2026, the environment ministers of Australia made no decision on national packaging design rules or EPR, as reported by Packaging News Australia the same day. I could not read the official communique, so treat that as reported, not confirmed.

The states are where the bans sit, and they target polystyrene, not bubble wrap:

1. Queensland bans expanded polystyrene loose packaging, the "peanuts". The state government banned items page (updated September 2026) suggests air pillows as one of the alternatives.
2. Western Australia has banned loose-fill expanded plastic packaging since 1 September 2023, and moulded or cut expanded plastic packaging since 1 July 2025, with an exemption for electronic goods over 25 kg. The details are on the Plan for Plastics Stage 2 page of the WA government (updated August 2026).

So if you ship to Australian customers, the thing to check is expanded plastic, usually white polystyrene: loose fill and moulded blocks.

Your bubble wrap is fine there.

New Zealand: never on the list

New Zealand's plastic phase-outs target hard-to-recycle PVC and polystyrene food and drink packaging, degradable plastics, and single-use items such as straws, cutlery, plates, bowls and produce bags. Bubble wrap was never on the list.

The phase-out page of the Ministry for the Environment also says the government has removed the 2025 deadline for the third stage. That stage covered the remaining PVC and polystyrene food and drink packaging.

I found no New Zealand phase-out step dated 2027.

So what does change in 2027?

None of these stops you using bubble wrap. Some of them make cheap, all-virgin plastic film cost more.

Should you move away from bubble wrap anyway?

Only if your product or your customer says so. My view is simple: choose the cushioning for the product, not for the headline. Bubble wrap is still very good at wrapping odd shapes and protecting surfaces. Paper wraps do that job where customers want a plastic-free box. Air pillows fill space with very little material. Our guide to choosing cushioning by product weight and fragility helps with that choice.

What I would do before 2027:

1. Keep a one-page note for each country you ship to, with the rule and its link.
2. Ask your bubble wrap supplier for the thickness, the recycled content and the proof behind it.
3. If you send goods to the UK, find out who your importer of record is. They pay the plastic tax.
4. If you send loose polystyrene fill or moulded foam blocks to Queensland or Western Australia, replace them.

And if someone tells you bubble wrap is banned, ask them for the notification number. That usually ends the discussion.