SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The European Union on Monday unveiled a proposal to ban 10 common single-use plastics, including chip bags. (Photo: Ingrid Taylar/Flickr/cc)
EU Urged to Go Further to Save Trash-Filled Waters With New Proposed Plastics Ban
Conservationists celebrated the step but said the ban should "stretch to all single-use plastic products throughout the European Union"
May 28, 2018
In a move welcomed by conservationists, the executive arm of the European Union (EU) on Monday proposed a ban on 10 common single-use plastics that, together with fishing gear, account for about 70 percent of marine litter across Europe.
The European Commission's ban would apply to bags; balloons and balloon sticks; chips and candy wrappers; cigarette butts; cotton buds; cups and lids; cutlery, straws, and stirrers; drink bottles; food containers; and sanitary applications.
"The only way to stop plastics pouring into our oceans is to turn off the flow at its source: production."
--Lasse Gustavsson,
Oceana Europe
The plastics proposal was widely embraced by conservation campaigners, though they challenged European leaders to go further.
"The only way to stop plastics pouring into our oceans is to turn off the flow at its source: production. By reducing the amount of unnecessary plastic we produce, we can make a real difference to the global marine litter crisis," Oceana Europe executive director Lasse Gustavsson said in a statement.
While applauding the step, Gustavsson emphasized that the ban should "stretch to all single-use plastic products throughout the European Union," explaining that "the plastics problem is not only on our beaches. Oceana has discovered plastic litter in the depths of our deep blue seas."
The European Commission estimates that if implemented, the measure would save consumers EUR6.5 billion and prevent 3.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions as well as EUR22 billion in other environmental damage by 2030.
The new rules would be applied differently for each product, aim to make it competitive for European companies to produce sustainable alternatives, and would be implemented as EU leaders work to finalize existing policies to address plastic fishing gear, which accounts for more than a quarter of beach litter across Europe.
The proposal still needs the approval of the 28 member states plus the European Parliament. The European Commission on Monday urged the EU's other institutions to "treat this as a priority file, and to deliver tangible results for Europeans before the elections in May 2019."
"This Commission promised to be big on the big issues and leave the rest to member states," said the EU's First Vice President Frans Timmermans. "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."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
In a move welcomed by conservationists, the executive arm of the European Union (EU) on Monday proposed a ban on 10 common single-use plastics that, together with fishing gear, account for about 70 percent of marine litter across Europe.
The European Commission's ban would apply to bags; balloons and balloon sticks; chips and candy wrappers; cigarette butts; cotton buds; cups and lids; cutlery, straws, and stirrers; drink bottles; food containers; and sanitary applications.
"The only way to stop plastics pouring into our oceans is to turn off the flow at its source: production."
--Lasse Gustavsson,
Oceana Europe
The plastics proposal was widely embraced by conservation campaigners, though they challenged European leaders to go further.
"The only way to stop plastics pouring into our oceans is to turn off the flow at its source: production. By reducing the amount of unnecessary plastic we produce, we can make a real difference to the global marine litter crisis," Oceana Europe executive director Lasse Gustavsson said in a statement.
While applauding the step, Gustavsson emphasized that the ban should "stretch to all single-use plastic products throughout the European Union," explaining that "the plastics problem is not only on our beaches. Oceana has discovered plastic litter in the depths of our deep blue seas."
The European Commission estimates that if implemented, the measure would save consumers EUR6.5 billion and prevent 3.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions as well as EUR22 billion in other environmental damage by 2030.
The new rules would be applied differently for each product, aim to make it competitive for European companies to produce sustainable alternatives, and would be implemented as EU leaders work to finalize existing policies to address plastic fishing gear, which accounts for more than a quarter of beach litter across Europe.
The proposal still needs the approval of the 28 member states plus the European Parliament. The European Commission on Monday urged the EU's other institutions to "treat this as a priority file, and to deliver tangible results for Europeans before the elections in May 2019."
"This Commission promised to be big on the big issues and leave the rest to member states," said the EU's First Vice President Frans Timmermans. "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."
In a move welcomed by conservationists, the executive arm of the European Union (EU) on Monday proposed a ban on 10 common single-use plastics that, together with fishing gear, account for about 70 percent of marine litter across Europe.
The European Commission's ban would apply to bags; balloons and balloon sticks; chips and candy wrappers; cigarette butts; cotton buds; cups and lids; cutlery, straws, and stirrers; drink bottles; food containers; and sanitary applications.
"The only way to stop plastics pouring into our oceans is to turn off the flow at its source: production."
--Lasse Gustavsson,
Oceana Europe
The plastics proposal was widely embraced by conservation campaigners, though they challenged European leaders to go further.
"The only way to stop plastics pouring into our oceans is to turn off the flow at its source: production. By reducing the amount of unnecessary plastic we produce, we can make a real difference to the global marine litter crisis," Oceana Europe executive director Lasse Gustavsson said in a statement.
While applauding the step, Gustavsson emphasized that the ban should "stretch to all single-use plastic products throughout the European Union," explaining that "the plastics problem is not only on our beaches. Oceana has discovered plastic litter in the depths of our deep blue seas."
The European Commission estimates that if implemented, the measure would save consumers EUR6.5 billion and prevent 3.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions as well as EUR22 billion in other environmental damage by 2030.
The new rules would be applied differently for each product, aim to make it competitive for European companies to produce sustainable alternatives, and would be implemented as EU leaders work to finalize existing policies to address plastic fishing gear, which accounts for more than a quarter of beach litter across Europe.
The proposal still needs the approval of the 28 member states plus the European Parliament. The European Commission on Monday urged the EU's other institutions to "treat this as a priority file, and to deliver tangible results for Europeans before the elections in May 2019."
"This Commission promised to be big on the big issues and leave the rest to member states," said the EU's First Vice President Frans Timmermans. "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."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.