E.U. proposes ban on some plastics

BRUSSELS—The European Commission on Monday proposed an ambitious set of measures to clean up Europe’s beaches and rid its seas and waterways of disposable plastics, and it urged the European Union to lead the way in reducing marine litter worldwide.

The measures, which will need to be approved by the European Union’s 28 member states, would reduce or alter the consumption and production of the top 10 plastic items most commonly found on beaches, including straws, cotton swabs, disposable cutlery and fishing gear.

“We are at risk of choking our oceans in plastic, with a knockon effect on our food chain and human health,” said Frans Timmermans, vice president of the European Commission, which is the bloc’s executive arm responsible for proposing legislation. “It’s in the air, it’s in our oceans, it’s in our food, and also in our bodies.”

“We will ban single-use plastics,” he said, and “lead the way” in a “global race to the top” to clean up the world’s oceans.

Several European countries, like Denmark, France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal, have already taken steps to reduce waste from plastics on a national level in recent years, and more than 85 percent of respondents in a European Union survey expressed strong support for the measures.

Although the process could take a year or more, if adopted, the proposal will impose different kinds of measures for different products. Where viable alternatives exist, single-use plastic products will be banned from the European single market. In other cases, member states will be directed to set national reduction targets.