23/01/2019 (Agence Europe) – A procedural step was taken on Monday 21 January in Brussels to combat ocean pollution by single-use plastics and to support the EU's transition to a circular economy. Parliament's Environment Committee confirmed the provisional interinstitutional agreement reached in December on the proposal for a directive that will require Member States to ban approximately ten products most commonly found on beaches, restrict the use of certain disposable plastics, set collection and recycling targets with strict deadlines and extended producer responsibility to finance beach collection and cleaning (see EUROPE 12163). Frédérique Ries (ALDE, Belgium) stressed that this directive "will save €22 billion, the estimated cost of plastic pollution in Europe by 2030". The national ambassadors to the EU had already confirmed the agreement. (AN)