Israelis are among the world's top users of disposable dishes and cutlery. According to an April report by the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, Israelis spend some 2 billion Israeli shekels ($574 million) annually on single-use dishes. The environmental organization Green Course claims Israel is the world’s second top user per capita of single-use plastic after the United States. This data turns Israel into a senior partner in global plastic pollution.

According to Israel Aviav, co-founder and CEO of WinPac, one of Israel’s biggest importers of single-use dishes, Israelis consume the largest number of plastic cups per capita in the world. "I say this based on 10 years of experience in the field," Aviav was quoted as saying to Calcalit newspaper.

Israelis use more than 250 million disposable cups a month. Ministry of Environmental Protection data obtained by Al-Monitor says Israelis use 1.3 million tons of plastic annually, most of which is dumped in the trash.

Israel is one of the few developed countries that has not outlawed single-use plastic. The European Union has been fighting for such a ban for years. The European Parliament has voted on a total ban of single-use plastic that goes into effect in 2021. A similar ban will go into effect in Canada, too.