Eliminate disposable plastic from the European continent. The dream of a Europe free of plastic waste almost seems to come true. In fact, today the European Commission has announced the new EU regulations to reduce marine litter
Eliminate disposable plastic from the European continent. The dream of a Europe free of plastic waste almost seems to come true. In fact, today the European Commission has announced the new EU regulations to reduce marine litter.
After banning plastic bags in 2015, Europe is now trying to pursue a strategy formed by the circular economy package recently finally approved by the Council and Parliament and the proposal for a tax on plastic.
Worldwide, plastics make up 85% of marine litter. In the form of microplastics they are also present in the air, in the water and also end up on our tables. Europe is finally realizing this.
Thanks to the proposed new directive, the emission of 3,4 million tons of CO2 would be avoided, environmental damage amounting to 22 billion euros by 2030 and will result in savings for consumers of 6,5 billion euros.
What products will be banned?
According to the Commission, attention has focused on 10 single-use plastic products and fishing gear which, together, represent 70% of marine litter in Europe. The new rules provide:
Index
A ban on the marketing of certain plastic products
With readily available and affordable alternatives, single-use plastic products will be excluded from the market. Will be banned: cotton buds, cutlery, plates, straws, drink mixers and balloon sticks. All of these products will need to be made from sustainable materials only. THE containers for drinks disposables will be allowed only if the caps and lids remain attached to the container;
Reduction of consumption
Prevention is always better. For this, Member States will have to reduce the use of plastic food containers and drink cups by setting national reduction targets, making alternative products available and preventing single-use plastic products from being supplied free of charge.
Obligations for producers
Producers will have to partially cover the costs of waste management and remediation and awareness-raising measures for the following products: food containers, packages and wrappers (for example, for chips and confectionery), containers and cups for beverages, products of the filter tobacco (such as cigarette butts), wet wipes, balloons and lightweight plastic bags. Incentives are provided to the industrial sector for the development of less polluting alternatives;
Collection targets
By 2025, Member States will have to collect 90% of single-use plastic beverage bottles by introducing bail-deposit systems;
Labeling requirements
Labels, we change. In fact, some products must have a clear and standardized label in which information on disposal, negative impact on the environment and on the presence of plastic must be reported. This prescription will cover sanitary towels, wet wipes and balloons;
Awareness-raising measures
Member States should raise consumer awareness of the consequences of the dispersion of plastic fishing products and fishing gear into the environment by providing information on available reuse systems. As for fishing gear, manufacturers will have to cover the costs of collection when the items are discarded.
Frans Timmermans, first vice president responsible for sustainable development, said:
“This Commission has promised to act in large groups and leave the rest to the Member States. It is undeniable that plastic waste is most effective in the air we breathe, in the soil, in the oceans and on our tables. Today's proposals will reduce, by a series of measures, the single-use plastic products that are now on supermarket shelves. Some of them will be banned, but that does not mean that we will have to give them up, because they will be replaced by a cleaner alternative ”.
The last word has not yet been said. The proposals of the EU Commission to ban plastic will now have to go through the Parliament and the Council of the European Union, which must discuss, amend and approve the final version.
In the rosiest of hypotheses, the new rules they might come into effect before the election of May 2019. Until then we can and must try to avoid the use of disposable plastics, regardless of what EU and national laws provide.
THU the information sheet of the directive
READ also:
- From 2019 stop to cotton buds and from 2020 goodbye to microplastics in cosmetics
- In France disposable plastic tableware banned from 2020
Francesca Mancuso
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