The German city of Tübingen took the pioneering steps of introducing a city wide tax on single-use plastic items, which formed just one part of a wider strategy to foster reuse within the city. The tax applied to both single-use cutlery (20 cents) and single-use packaging for food and beverage containers (50 cents).

The city supplemented this action to support businesses transition to reusable alternatives by providing subsidies for dishwashers and directly connecting them with companies who have the equipment and infrastructure already for reusable packaging. Whilst the legality of the tax is now under review within the German legal system, the story of Tübingen highlights how cities can take bold and important action to tackle the flood of single-use items on their streets.