Plastic utensils, straws, coffee stirrers and cotton swabs may soon be a lot harder to come by in Europe. The EU Commission presented a draft directive to ban the single-use products in the fight against plastic waste.
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EU plans to ban whole range of plastic products: DW's Georg Matthes
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The European Commission proposed new EU-wide rules on Monday aimed at reducing plastic pollution in cities and oceans by banning several plastic products.
EU officials noted that the single-use plastic objects and fishing gear accounts for 70 percent of trash in the ocean and that the move towards "innovative alternatives" could create some 30,000 jobs.
What they are proposing
In their draft directive, the EU Commission took aim at the top 10 single-use plastic products that wash up on Europe's beaches and are found in its seas:
A ban on the private use of disposable plastic products like straws, plastic plates, plastic utensils, plastic coffee stirrers, cotton swabs with plastic stems and plastic balloon holders.
Curbing the use of plastic cups for beverages as well as plastic food containers, such as the ones used for take-away.
Producers of certain products will be required to help cover the costs of clean-up and waste treatment, including: tobacco products with filters (such as cigarette butts), plastic bags, candy wrappers, potato chip packages and wet wipes.
Menstrual pads, wet wipes and balloons will be required to add a label indicating how the product should be disposed.
Producers of fishing gear — which accounts for 27 percent of beach litter — will be required to cover the costs of waste collection in ports.
Each member state should use a deposit system or other measure in order to collect 90 percent of plastic bottles used in their country by 2025.
An increase in consumer information about the dangers of plastic packaging.
Microplastics: Our daily companions
Tiny pieces of plastic, or microplastics, are everywhere — despite potentially harmful effects on the environment and human health. Here are just a few of the products in our day-to-day life that contain microplastics.
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Plastic in your mouth
Microplastics are defined as smaller than 5 milimeters in diameter. But these tiny particles accumulate in the sea, can enter the food chain, and are even found in the air. Personal care products containing microplastics, such as toothpaste, represent one of the most common intentional uses of microplastics in our daily lives.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Sauer
Cleaning your skin with plastic
Some cosmetic products can contain as much plastic added as the amount of plastic in which they are packaged, experts indicate. Exfoliating daily washes very often use of microplastics, often termed "micro-beads," which then get flushed into the household wastewater stream.
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Mmm, plastic
Via wastewater, microplastics reach the oceans, where they move enter the food chain through feeding zooplankton. In 2017, researchers found that 25 percent of marine fish tested in markets in Indonesia and California had plastic and textile fibers in their guts. Research is still lacking as to whether consuming microplastics through fish harms humans.
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Plastic condiment
Several studies published in 2017 showed that microplastics have also been found in sea salt from the United States, Europe and China. It's not surprising, considering how plastic debris represent between 60 to 80 percent of the total marine waste, and that up to 12 million tons of plastic waste ends up in the ocean every year.
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No way to escape
Beside microplastics in seafood like fish, shrimp and mussels, scientists point to other foods, such as honey. In the recently adopted European Union plastics strategy, honey was mentioned as one of the food products containing microplastics — to motivate a push toward a ban.
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Wearing plastics
Aside from micro-beads in hygiene products, synthetic textiles also release a vast amount of tiny plastic fibers into wastewater. Researchers found that a typical 6-kilogram (13-pound) washing load of acrylic-fabric items (like fluffy blankets) generates more than 700,000 individual fibers. Synthetic fabrics account for around a third of ocean microplastics.
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Dirty wheels
Vehicles tires are also a main source releasing microplastics into the environment. Tires are made of synthetic polymers mixed with rubber, which grinds down when used. This generates microplastics that are either blown around by the wind or washed away by rain. Norwegian and Swedish researchers agree that a large proporation of particles found in the sea come from car tires.
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Open the tap, and ... microplastics
Microplastics have also been found in tap water. In an analysis of tap water samples from countries around the world, more than 80 percent were contaminated with some amount of plastic fibers. If synthetic fibers are in tap water, they are also likely to be in a number of other basic foodstuffs, like bread.
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No, not my beer!
And yes, if tap water contains microplastics, beer could very well also be contaminated. A 2014 study found plastic particles in a total of 24 German beers - but variability in the results was high, and further research would needed for verification, the German Environment Agency has pointed out. In any case, cheers for now.
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'Europeans need to act together'
EU First Vice President Frans Timmermans hailed the draft directive, saying: "Plastic waste is undeniably a big issue and Europeans need to act together to tackle this problem, because plastic waste ends up in our air, our soil, our oceans, and in our food."
He added that there would be a particular emphasis on substituting banned or reduced items with eco-friendly alternatives.
The German government signaled its approval of the European Commission's plans in comments to ARD on Sunday. Environment Minister Svenja Schulze, a member of the center-left Social Democrats, told the broadcaster that single-use plastics "should be regulated at a European level and be gradually taken out of circulation."
Possible pushback: The EU is hoping to fend off consumer anger over the possible changes by educating the public about environmentally-friendly alternatives to the plastic products that may end up being banned.
The danger of plastic waste: Plastic waste poses life-threatening dangers to ocean-dwellers, birds and animals further up the food chain.Many animals consume the waste or get caught in it, eventually becoming sick and possibly dying as a result. What's more, microplastics take thousands of years to degrade, meaning the plastic trash that's blowing around on the street or landing in lakes, rivers and oceans will remain there for some time.
What happens next? The proposed directive will now go to the European Parliament and the European Council for approval. Should the directive be approved, EU-member states will be given a deadline to adapt to the changes. EU Commission officials urged for institutions to "deliver tangible results" before EU elections in twelve month's time.
