On Monday 28 May, in the interest of the oceans, public health, innovation and the competitiveness of European industry, the European Commission proposed new EU-wide rules to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic products. All legislation being put forward by the Commission would leave member states sufficient leeway for carrying out the measures.
Based on the results of consultation with all stakeholders, especially industry, the content of the draft European directive adopted by the Commission was known and already largely commented upon (see EUROPE 12025, 12016).
In particular, the Commission is proposing that member states should ban single-use straws, cotton buds, sticks for balloons, cutlery, cups, fishing rods, etc., as long as there are accessible and affordable alternative products available. Oceans could otherwise be under the threat of containing more plastics than fish by 2050.
The other measures aim at: - member states’ targets for reducing the use of plastic food containers; - an obligation on member states to ensure the collection of 90% of plastic bottles by 2025, through the use of deposit refund schemes, for example; - incentives to producers to take part in the cost of cleaning up beaches and oceans; - compulsory labelling for sanitary towels and balloons to inform consumers of their impact on the environment and on appropriate means of disposal; - and the organisation of consumer awareness campaigns concerning the negative impact of single-use plastics and on available re-use systems, as well as on options for the management of this kind of waste.
First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, responsible for sustainable development, said: “The EU is not the biggest contributor to marine litter but can lead the way towards finding a solution. We can set the example for the environment, health, and also in terms of competitive advantage. I invite the other countries to join us in this pursuit”.
Addressing the press, Timmermans acknowledged that he had hitherto “under-estimated the success of the directive on the use of single use plastic bags which allowed the consumption of the bags to be reduced by half”. Underlining that industry itself is calling for alternative raw materials and that “most producers want to act being under pressure from consumers”, he went on to add: “we have a strong mandate for taking action, under society’s influence”. He said the Parliament and the Council have “made this issue a priority” so that a stance may be taken by all three institutions by the European elections.
Micro-plastics are not covered by the directive, Timmermans conceded when addressing the press. In his view, the proposal is consistent with the Chinese decision to ban exports of waste from third countries and with the proposal to levy a tax on plastics, currently being discussed in relation to own resources of the future multiannual financial framework 2021-2027.
“Some member states are not interested in a tax on plastics to fuel own resources. The proposal is still on the table. If the tax in question is not part of own resources, then I encourage member states to adopt a tax at national level”, he said.
According to the vice-president on employment, growth, investment and competitiveness, Jyrki Katainen, “the basic idea underlying the directive is to make this problem into an opportunity, to create a new market and to use legislation in order to change the way the market thinks about plastics”. He was convinced that “the directive will encourage industry and consumers to move towards most sustainable solutions to combat marine litter and will send a clear signal in favour of innovators”. He went on to give his assurance that “disposable plastic products are imported and will not cause prejudice to European producers”.
This is the second legislative proposal within the framework of the EU strategy on plastics presented in January (see EUROPE 11940). The first legislative proposal concerned installations for receiving marine litter in ports. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)