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Disposable plastic products such as disposable plates, drinking straws or cotton swabs will disappear from our everyday lives. The European Union has decided to ban this in order to protect the environment.

The EU ban on plastic plates, drinking straws and other disposable plastic products is now in place. Negotiators of the European Parliament and the EU states agreed on the details in Brussels on Wednesday morning.

The ban is intended to help curb the masses of plastic waste in the environment and the oceans.
EU ban: the changes will only take effect in two years' time

In May, the EU Commission proposed banning disposable crockery, straws, cotton swabs and other disposable plastic articles. The quantity of food packaging and drinking cups is to be reduced with reduction targets.

The EU Parliament and EU countries had slightly changed the plans in the legislative process. They still have to officially confirm the agreement of the negotiators. The changes are expected to come into force in a good two years.

The strategy against plastic waste should bring tangible changes to almost everyone's everyday life. From the beginning of 2021, however, only items for which there are already better alternatives are to be banned.

These include balloon rods, for example. The package is particularly important for the plastics industry, which, according to the authorities, had a turnover of 340 billion euros in 2015 and employed 1.5 million people.

Five years after the regulation comes into force, the lids of disposable plastic bottles may only be put into circulation if they are connected to the bottle so that they do not end up in the environment individually.

Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) had demanded that states can avoid this obligation with a deposit system. The majority of deposit bottles will be returned with lids, according to the ministry. However, there was no EU-wide majority for this.

In addition, a number of disposable products with a certain plastic content - such as wet wipes - will have to be labelled. The negative effects on the environment should also be pointed out.
Prohibition to reduce CO2 emissions

The EU Commission expects the plan to bring major environmental benefits. The measures are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3.4 million tons. By 2030, environmental damage worth 22 billion euros could be avoided, they said. Consumers could save up to 6.5 billion euros.

The Commission justifies the initiative primarily with the protection of the oceans. More than 80 percent of the garbage in the oceans is plastic.

Part of the new strategy is for manufacturers to share the costs of cleaning up. In future, the tobacco industry could be asked to pay for the collection of cigarette butts.

"Those who produce disposable articles such as cigarettes will have to take more responsibility for the garbage in the future," Environment Minister Schulze told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group. "For example, the cigarette industry could contribute to the costs of cleaning beaches and parks.

"A milestone in our efforts to reduce plastic waste," twittered Austrian Minister Elisabeth Köstinger. Austria currently holds the six-monthly rotating presidency among the EU member states. (mcf/dpa)

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VDX
... with the sheer amount of plastic polluting the environment (and developing/distributing into "micro-plastic" particles) -- one of my core ideas is not to recycle plastic mainly (only small quantities for actual reuse), but convert it into "coal chunks" for use in building materials and for "landfill" (see the building/generating of floating or stationary mega-structures in the project list) ...

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VDX
... this is a "must see" for energy relations:

[www.stuartmcmillen.com]

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VDX
... yes, it's hard to realize -- but shows our actual "overdrive"-mode

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VDX
... could be, this is a "systematic" behaviour - and points into direction of a "race-condition", ending either in a "final collapse" ... or into developing of superior molecular (and biological/genetic) technologies