>

All the PPE and all the takeout and delivery groceries would have been huge contributors. I’ve still got single use utensils and bags from 2020 and I imagine I’m not alone.
This title could also be “Disposable product use skyrocketed during pandemic”. >

Yeah I bet a large amount of it has to do with gloves, laboratory pipettes, the at-home test covid test kits, people doing more take home with plastic utensils vs eating in with metal utensils, etc.
Companies that can make use of paper packaging have been trying to shift away from plastic.