European Parliament votes clearly for ban on disposable plastic



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Strasbourg – The European Parliament on Wednesday banned disposable plastic articles in Strasbourg and rejected them for negotiation with the Council before the committee responsible. The parliamentary proposal states that the ten most commonly found disposable products on the beaches of Europe and representing more than 70% of the waste at sea will be banned from 2021.

Plastic bottles will now be collected separately throughout the EU. In addition, EU states should recycle at least 90% of disposable plastic bottles by 2025. Under the Austrian Presidency, the environment ministers of the member states of the EU are expected to recycle at least 90% of the disposable plastic bottles by 2025. EU should agree this year on a common position, it is "a priority of the presidency," said the Council. After that, the trilogue negotiations begin.

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Straws, disposable tableware, cotton swabs and other disposable plastic products must be prohibited. For the new regulation, 571 deputies voted, 53 voted against and 34 abstained.

Reduction of other targeted plastic products

The proposed new regulation plans to ban a range of disposable products, for which there are already alternatives, from 2021, entirely from the EU. For packaging or cups not subject to the ban, the Parliament calls for a reduction target of 25% by 2025.

Parliamentarians have further expanded the list of products submitted by the Commission: According to their wishes, plastic bags and expanded polystyrene foam containers, which are used in fast food outlets, are prohibited. In addition, the European Parliament calls for reducing the number of plastic cigarette filters by 50% by 2025 and by 80% by 2030.

Plastic bottles must be collected separately depending on the model. In addition, Member States will be required to recycle 90% of disposable plastic bottles by 2025. Newly sold bottles must then contain at least 35% recycled materials, so as not to waste valuable raw materials.

Fishing nets must be collected

EU states should also ensure that at least 50% of fishing nets drifting in the oceans are collected. By 2025, a recycling rate of at least 15% must be prescribed.

The European Parliament also requires that cigarette and fishing gear manufacturers bear the cost of collecting, recycling and cleaning the seas and beaches. A single cigarette filter can pollute between 500 and 1,000 liters of water and put up to twelve years to dissolve, Parliament justified this request.

Ecologists see a historic day

Environmental organizations have welcomed the proposed ban. "The European Parliament has marked history today," he said in a Global 2000 statement. It is now up to national governments to ensure that the directive is not relaxed and does not does not give in to the pressures of the industry. Greenpeace urged Environment Minister Elisabeth Köstinger (ÖVP) to be too strong so that a directive leaves no way out for businesses.

The FPÖ had accepted the ban on disposable plastic, even "if the proposal exceeded a little," said Liberation Party MEP Georg Mayer. It would have been important to involve the major producers of American and Chinese waste. NEOS welcomes the result of the vote. The EU is therefore a world pioneer in the fight against plastic waste, said MEP Angelika Mlinar. (TT.com, APA)

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