All plastic plates, cups and utensils will be banned on Isole Tremiti, an archipelago off the east coast of Italy, from 1 May 2018.

Anyone caught using plastic dining ware on the Italian islands will be fined between €50 and €500, reports The Local.

The new rules, imposed by the archipelago’s mayor, Antonio Fentini, were created to try to curb the high levels of plastic particles found in the water around the islands.

Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Plastic waste across the world: in pictures A father and son on a makeshift boat made from styrofoam paddle through a garbage filled river as they collect plastic bottles that they can sell in junkshops in Manila. The father and son team earn some three US dollars a day retrieving recyclables from the river. AFP/Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures A composite image of items found on the shore of the Thames Estuary in Rainham, Kent. Tons of plastic and other waste lines areas along the Thames Estuary shoreline, an important feeding ground for wading birds and other marine wildlife. Getty Images Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Children collect plastic water bottles among the garbage washed ashore at the Manila Bay. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, at current rates of pollution, there will likely be more plastic in the sea than fish by 2050. AFP/Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Plastics and other detritus line the shore of the Thames Estuary. In December 2017 Britain joined the other 193 UN countries and signed up to a resolution to help eliminate marine litter and microplastics in the sea. It is estimated that about eight million metric tons of plastic find their way into the world's oceans every year. Once in the Ocean plastic can take hundreds of years to degrade, all the while breaking down into smaller and smaller 'microplastics,' which can be consumed by marine animals, and find their way into the human food chain. Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures A dump site in Manila in 2013. The Philippines financial capital banned disposable plastic shopping bags and styrofoam food containers, as part of escalating efforts across the nation's capital to curb rubbish that exacerbates deadly flooding. AFP/Getty Images Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Children swims in the sea full of garbage in North Jakarta, Indonesia. Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures An Indian woman holds a jar filled with Yamuna river water polluted with froth and toxic foam to be used for rituals at the river bank in New Delhi, India. The Yamuna River, like all other holy rivers in India, has been massively polluted for decades now. The river that originates in a glacier in the pristine and unpolluted Himalayas, and flows through Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh before merging with the Ganges River in Allahabad, once used to be the lifeline of the Indian capital. Currently, it is no more than a large, open sewer that is choking with industrial and domestic discharge that includes plastic, flowers and debris and has virtually no aquatic life. EPA Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Plastic waste is washed up on South Troon beach in Scotland. Recent reports by scientists have confirmed, plastics dumped in the world oceans are reaching a dangerous level with micro plastic particles now being found inside filter feeding animals and amongst sand grains on our beaches. Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Children collect plastic to be sold and recycled, in a polluted river in suburban Manila. The city's trash disposal agency traps solid waste floating down waterways that was thrown into the water by residents of slums along riverbanks upstream. AFP/Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures View of the Carpayo Beach in La Punta, Callao, some 15 km of Lima. In 2013, the NGO VIDA labeled the Carpayo Beach as the most polluted in the country - 40 tons of trash on each 500m2. AFP/Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Trash from Kamilo Beach in Hawaii. Gabriella Levine/Flickr Plastic waste across the world: in pictures A scavenger collects plastic cups for recycling in a river covered with rubbish near Pluit dam in Jakarta. Reuters Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Rubbish fills Omoa beach in Honduras. Floating masses of garbage offshore from some of the Caribbean's pristine beaches are testimony to a vast and growing problem of plastic pollution heedlessly dumped in our oceans, locals, activists and experts say. AFP/Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures A man climbs down to a garbage filled river in Manila. Plastic rubbish will outweigh fish in the oceans by 2050 unless the world takes drastic action to recycle the material, a report warned in 2016. AFP/Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Garbage on East Beach, Henderson Island (Pitcairn Islands), in the south Pacific Ocean. The uninhabited island has been found to have the world's highest density of waste plastic, with more than 3,500 additional pieces of litter washing ashore daily at just one of its beaches. EPA

“Day after day we’re seeing humans kill our sea and we had to do something, immediately,” he said.

The discovery of high concentrations of microplastic surrounding Isole Tremiti was particularly worrying given the islands’ protected status; the archipelago lies within a protected marine reserve.

Fentini is encouraging people to use reusable and biodegradable utensils instead.

Plastic bottles, however, are still legal. He hopes this can change, with a move towards glass bottles instead, and aims to ban polystyrene containers too.

The levels of plastic were revealed by a Greenpeace investigation, which found 2.2 pieces of plastic per metre cubed of water, most of it polyethylene, which is commonly used to make plastic bags, bottles and packaging.

This was significantly higher than Italy’s average – 0.52 items per metre cubed of water.

However, the plastic may not all be coming from the Tremiti islands themselves, as currents frequently carry plastic particles towards islands, according to Greenpeace.

“I’m calling on the mayors of all islands and coastal areas to follow suit,” said Fentini. “Let’s all try to do some good for our planet.”

Plastic is a hot topic in the travel industry at the moment. Hurtigruten, the world’s biggest expedition cruise operator, announced recently it aims to be the first plastic-free cruise company. It will prohibit all unnecessary single-use plastic, including straws, glasses and bags, by 2 July.

The Tremiti archipelago is getting tough on plastic (Getty Images/iStockphoto) (Getty)

Heathrow airport is also in on the action, announcing an ambitious plan to recycle all single-use coffee cups from over 20 of its retail and lounge business partners by the end of the year.

The initial stage will see retailers use a standardised paper cup which can be collected by the airport and recycled in the UK. Heathrow then plans to explore how to implement a reuse system to help phase out single-use cups altogether, as well as other plastic items such as straws.