EU Takes Major Step Forward in Stopping Single-Use Plastic Pollution

Today’s vote by European Parliament demonstrates EU’s leadership leading up to international expert meeting on plastic pollution in December

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 2018

Strasbourg, France — Today, a great majority in the European Parliament voted to strengthen EU efforts to stop pollution caused by single-use plastics.

Through this vote, Parliament brought the EU closer to a ban of some of the most problematic single-use plastic items, including food containers, cups, and plastic cutlery. The proposed legislation introduces new extended producer responsibility schemes to hold producers accountable for the costs of single-use plastic pollution — including for fishing gear, a key source of marine plastic pollution.

“The efforts of the EU to limit single-use plastic pollution are a major step forward,” says Giulia Carlini, Staff Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). “With efforts to tackle plastic pollution advancing ambitiously on a global level, we are encouraged to see that the EU is taking a leadership role in confronting the plastics crisis, and we hope that the EU continues to carry forward these efforts in international negotiations.”

In December 2017, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a resolution to examine options for tackling the marine plastic pollution problem, and in the intervening months, an Expert Group has met to discuss viable options. The group will provide input on strategies for moving forward at UN Environment Assembly (UNEA4) in Nairobi in March 2019.

“At the upcoming Expert Group meeting this December, it is essential that countries begin to discuss options for a global binding mechanism to address plastic pollution, all the way from production to waste. The EU is in a great position to lead other countries forward in this effort,” says Carlini.

CIEL and other members of Rethink Plastic, an alliance of European NGOs that are part of the global Break Free From Plastic movement, are encouraged to see the Parliament’s adoption of this legislative proposal, but more work remains.

Now that the European Parliament has adopted the proposed single-use plastic directive, the EU Member States’ governments can formally adopt these measures at an upcoming meeting of the Council of the EU. Negotiations between the Parliament, the Council, and the European Commission could begin within a few weeks. Once the proposal is adopted, EU Member States will need to develop their own national legislation and rules to align with these provisions.  “Citizens across Europe want to see an end to plastic pollution. It’s now up to national governments to keep the ambition high, and resist corporate pressure to continue a throwaway culture,” says Justine Maillot, EU Affairs Project Officer at Surfrider Foundation Europe, on behalf of Rethink Plastic.

While the Parliament’s vote is a positive step, campaigners are disappointed that Parliament chose not to adopt of a ban on very light-weight single-use plastic bags, which the Environment Committee of the Parliament supported earlier this month.

Some of the major corporations behind plastic pollution have already lobbied EU member states to try to water down the law. “Plus, on the international level, industry has proven a steadfast opponent to concrete and legally binding action, preferring instead voluntary — and therefore, less effective — measures,” says Carlini.

Civil society, particularly the members of Rethink Plastic and Break Free From Plastic, will be keeping a close watch for industry interference in this and other important processes. “If companies are serious about stopping plastic pollution, they must take a proactive approach to the global crisis by supporting binding commitments, like the EU’s single-use plastics directive,” says Carlini.

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Notes for Editors:

Contact: Giulia Carlini, Staff Attorney, gcarlini@ciel.org