EU bid to ban throw-away plastics

EU LAWMAKERS moved yesterday to ban widely used, throw-away plastics such as straws and cotton buds, and put a greater burden on manufacturers to recycle in an effort to clear up ocean pollution.

Under the proposal, overwhelmingly backed by the European Parliament, 10 single-use plastic products with available alternatives would be banned by 2021. EU states would be obliged to recycle 90% of plastic bottles by 2025 and producers would have to help cover costs of waste management.

Waste from cigarette butts, which can take over a decade to degrade in water, would also have to be cut by 50% in 2025 and by 80% in 2030.

The EU recycles only a quarter of the 25 million tons of plastics waste it produces per year.

China’s decision to stop processing waste coupled with growing alarm over damage to oceans has pushed the continent to end reliance on developing countries to deal with its waste.

Regulators hope the new rules will lead to a drop in the price of recycled plastics. The EU’s final rules still need to be approved by member states – some of which have balked at the curbs, worried they will be too difficult to implement for industry.

But the deputy head of the EU executive, who is overseeing efforts to cut down on plastic waste, called for action. “Europe has to come to terms with the fact that we cannot just put it on someone else’s shoulders,” EU Commission first vice president Frans Timmermans said.