EU sets 2030 target for recyclable plastic packaging

STRASBOURG, France: The European Union unveiled plans Tuesday for all plastic packaging in Europe to be recyclable by 2030 and phase out single-use plastic like coffee cups to fight pollution.

The strategy announced by the European Commission, the EUexecutive, follows China’s decision to ban imports of foreign waste products for recycling, including huge quantities from Europe.

“The commission aims to increase plastic recycling and for all plastic packaging to be reusable or recyclable by 2030,” the executive body said.

The Commission said its proposals also aim to create business opportunities by transforming the way plastic products are designed, produced and recycled in Europe.

The EU currently exports half of its collected and sorted plastics, 85 per cent of which goes to China.

Commission First vice-president Frans Timmermans said: “We must stop plastics getting into our water, our food, and even our bodies. The only long-term solution is to reduce plastic waste by recycling and reusing more.”

“The Chinese decision is undoubtedly a big challenge but let’s turn that challenge into an opportunity,” he added.

The Commission’s strategy aims to rid the seas and oceans from the ‘700 kilogrammes’ of plastics it says get washed up each day, and it “will take measures to limit the use of microplastics” found in cosmetics and detergents.

Proposed new rules on ports and the shipping industry are aimed at making sure waste generated at sea by ships is not released into the water.

An additional 100 million euros was also promised to fund research into promoting technical innovations for tackling the problem.

The Commission has already taken a number of steps to try to reduce plastic, particularly singleuse shopping bags.

The proposals did not contain plans for a tax on plastic packaging, which budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger proposed last week to fight pollution and to help plug a hole of around 13 billion euros in the bloc’s budget caused by Brexit.

“We have not found a way to introduce a European-wide plastic tax yet,” vice-president Jyrki Katainen, who is responsible for jobs and investment, told reporters.

“It is too early to promise anything.”

Britain’s Prince Charles and others held an EU- backed conference last year for drastic action to stop eight million tonnes of plastic waste polluting the world’s oceans annually.

The Commission said Europeans generate 25 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, but less than 30 per cent is collected for recycling. — AFP