Plastic tableware and bottles are on the list

The European commission on Thursday proposed a ban on the use of single-use plastic products such as cotton swabs and plastic straws, with manufacturers shouldering the burden of cleaning up the waste in an effort to reduce Marine waste, Reuters reported.
"Plastic waste is clearly a big problem and europeans need to act together to tackle it because it ends up in our air, in our soil, in our oceans and in our food," said the commission's vice-president, frans timmermans.
According to the draft released by the European commission, there are 10 types of single-use plastic products on the blacklist, including plastic tableware (including straws, knives and forks, etc.), cotton swabs, balloons and brackets, plastic meal boxes, cups, bottles, cigarette butts, plastic bags, potato chips (including sugar paper) and wet paper towels. Plastic fishing gear also made the list.
According to the draft, the 10 types of single-use plastic products account for 43 percent of Europe's Marine waste, and fishing gear containing plastic accounts for 27 percent of Europe's Marine waste, making them the most common plastic waste on European beaches.
Some single-use plastic products will be completely banned and replaced with more environmentally friendly ones. "These products include plastic swabs, plastic plates, straws, drink mixers and balloons, which are made from different materials," said France timmermans.
For plastic meal boxes and cups, the programme proposes substantial reductions in market consumption; For plastic bottles, the plan calls for eu member states to meet a 90% recycling target by 2025.
For balloons, cigarette butts, plastic bags, potato chip bags, wet wipes and even fishing tackle, the plan puts pressure on manufacturers to provide financial support for cleaning up, recycling, waste treatment, environmental protection publicity and other work. It also requires changing the outer packaging of balloons and wet wipes to clearly show the impact on the environment and proper disposal of garbage.
The eu estimates that the ban will reduce carbon emissions by 3.4 million tons. To reduce the environmental damage caused by such substances by about 22 billion euros by 2030; It saved consumers 6.5 billion euros.
Jurgen katainen, vice-president of the European commission for jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness, said the proposal was an opportunity for Europe to lead the world, creating the products the world needs in the coming decades and extracting more economic value from precious and limited resources. "Our goal of collecting plastic bottles will also help create the necessary production for the booming plastics recycling industry," he said.
The commission's proposals must also be approved by the European parliament and the European council. The committee said it hoped the proposal would be approved before European parliamentary elections in late May 2019.
At present, Marine pollution is a headache for all countries, and plastic pollution is the biggest source of pollution. According to statistics, there are about 10-20 million tons of plastic waste flowing into the ocean every year, accounting for 85% of the Marine waste. Experts point out that microplastics not only poison the Marine food chain, resulting in the death of Marine life, but also can exist for hundreds of years, will continue to endanger the Marine ecology.
Source: UnityInvestment