The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to ban some
single-use plastics — such as drinking straws and disposable cutlery — across
the European Union and a reduction on others in an effort to reduce ocean
waste.
Members of the European Parliament passed the measure
overwhelmingly, by a vote of 571 to 53, with 34 abstentions.
Before the legislation goes into effect, the European
Parliament must negotiate with the European Council of government ministers
from its member states. The council will make a decision on Dec. 16.
This ambitious legislation against single-use plastics
is essential to protect the marine
environment and reduce the costs of environmental damage attributed to plastic
pollution in Europe, estimated at 22 billion euros by 2030.
The legislation calls for direct bans on
Single-use plastic items such as "plates,
cutlery, straws, balloon sticks or cotton buds" will be totally banned by
2021.
Consumption of single-use plastics "for which no
alternative exists," such as single-use food boxes or containers for
fruits, vegetables or ice cream, must be reduced by at least 25 percent by
2025, according to the legislation.
Tobacco producers will have to reduce waste from
tobacco products and cigarette filters containing plastic by 50 percent by 2025
and 80 percent by 2030. They will have to cover the costs of waste collection
for their products, "including transport, treatment and litter
collection."
Member states should also ensure that at least 50
percent of lost or abandoned fishing gear containing plastic is collected per
year, with a recycling target of at least 15 percent by 2025. Fishing gear
represents 27 percent of waste found on Europe's beaches."
The European Parliament also seeks to recycle a target
of 90 percent of all recyclable drink bottles by 2025.
The measures are the latest in a growing, global
movement to reduce single-use plastic waste.
Plastic makes up more than 80 percent of marine
litter.
Last year the United Nations "declared
war" on ocean plastic and stated:
"Each year, more than 8 million tons of plastic
ends up in the oceans, wreaking havoc on marine wildlife, fisheries and
tourism, and costing at least $8 billion in damage to marine ecosystems. Up to
80 per cent of all litter in our oceans is made of plastic.
"According
to some estimates, at the rate we are dumping items such as plastic bottles,
bags and cups after a single use, by 2050 oceans will carry more plastic than
fish."
The movement to eliminate plastic straws is also spreading
across the U.S. and other parts of the world.
Starbucks will drop plastic straws worldwide by 2020.
McDonald's is beginning
to use paper straws instead of plastic ones in some 1,300 restaurants in
the U.K. and Ireland. It uses about 1.8 million straws a
day in the U.K., and will have 100 percent of its packaging come from
"renewable, recycled, or certified" sources by 2025.
Article from NPR (edited)
