This is a potential victory for the planet, public health, European innovation and the circular economy. On the morning of 19 December, after more than twelve hours of inter-institutional negotiations 'to the finish', provisional political agreement was reached between the European Parliament and the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU on the proposal for a directive to limit the use of single-use plastic products in the EU that are responsible for the 'sea of plastic'.
The legislation will combine restrictions on use, an outright ban on the ten or so products that are most frequently found on beaches and which have less polluting alternatives, collection and recycling targets with strict deadlines, and wider responsibilities for manufacturers to fund bottle collections and beach cleaning.
Under the compromise, single-use plastic straws, cotton buds, cutlery and plates, along with food and drink containers made of expanded polystyrene - including fast food containers and boxes without lids - and all products made from oxo-biodegradable plastic, will be banned in the EU from 2021, as Parliament wanted.
The recycling target for plastic bottles will be 90% by 2029. The text includes an average recycling target for PET plastic bottles of 25% from 2025 for each Member State. And by 2030, all plastic bottles must contain at least 30% recycled material.
Manufacturers will be required to attach the caps to plastic bottles and Tetra Pak containers right from the design stage (see EUROPE 12151). This requirement will not apply to glass or metal bottles.
Parliament was not successful when it came to cigarette filters: there will be no reduction targets even though alternatives to plastic do exist (). Instead, manufacturers will be required to print a warning on cigarette packaging informing smokers about the presence of plastic in the filters and asking them not to throw their cigarette butts on the ground.
The same labelling requirement will apply to packs of wipes (such as wet wipes) for personal or household use.
"Citizens expected only one thing from the European Union, that it adopts an ambitious directive against disposable plastics responsible for asphyxiation of the seas and oceans. And we’ve done it! It will reduce the environmental damage bill by €22 billion - the estimated cost of plastic pollution in Europe until 2030," said Parliament's chief negotiator, Frédérique Ries (ALDE, Belgium).
On behalf of the outgoing Austrian Presidency of the EU Council, Minister Elisabeth Köstinger stressed the importance of this legislation, saying that, if there is no change of policy at international level, "there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050."
Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans welcomed "an ambitious agreement to reduce marine waste for the benefit of citizens and the planet.” His colleague Jyrki Katainen stressed the "new opportunities for innovation, growth and employment" offered by this legislation.
Margrete Auken, spokesperson for the Greens/EFA group on this issue in Parliament, referred to "a Christmas present for the planet and our future on this planet." Recalling that "every minute, a ton of plastic is dumped into our oceans," French MEP Michèle Rivasi (Greens/EFA) welcomed the agreement. "Our institutions have finally taken action to address the decades of damage caused by plastic pollution," she said. The next step to be argued for, according to the Greens, is "a general ban on these plastic products."
The text of the inter-institutional agreement has yet to be confirmed by the Council and Parliament before the Directive can be formally adopted and enter into force in spring 2021. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)