European Parliament Moves Forward with Plastic Bag Ban to Cut Waste

Credit: Flickr niksnut There has been a mixed response to the European Parliament’s vote to approve the draft Directive on carrier bags presented by the Commission and intended to minimise waste. Under the draft legislation, the European Parliament said that EU countries would have to reduce the use of the most common and most polluting plastic bags by at least 80% by 2019. MEPs noted that plastic carrier bag litter is a major environmental problem, known to pollute water bodies and aquatic eco-systems in particular, and recommend using taxes and levies, marketing restrictions or bans. According to MEPs, lightweight plastic bags thinner than 50 microns - the vast majority of plastic carrier bags used in the EU - are less reusable than thicker models and become waste more quickly and are also more prone to littering the environment. The draft legislation sets reduction targets of 50% by 2017, 80% by 2019. Under the proposals plastic bags used to wrap foods such as fruit, vegetables and confectionery should be replaced by 2019 with carrier bags made of recycled paper or biodegradable and compostable bags. The MEPs also said that requirements for compostable and biodegradable packaging should be amended. "MEPs have today voted to significantly strengthen draft EU rules aimed at reducing plastic bag use and waste, notably to include obligatory European reduction targets and a requirement that plastic bags come at a cost,” commented lead MEP Margrete Auken (Greens/EFA, DK), whose report was approved by 539 votes to 51, with 72 abstentions. “As front-running countries have demonstrated, dramatically reducing the consumption of these disposable bags is easily achievable with coherent policy,” she added. “Swiftly phasing out these bags is a readily implementable solution to the pervasive problem of plastic waste in the environment," concluded the MEP. A statement from the Parliament it said that MEPs had voted at first reading to ensure that the work done during this mandate can be taken up by the new Parliament and used as a basis for further negotiations with EU member states. Alarm bells A number of trade bodies representing plastic bag and packaging manufacturers, including PlasticsEurope, Europen and other industry associations were quick to issue a statement saying that they were “very alarmed” the vote on banning lightweight plastic carrier bags. "A ban on plastics bags is not the solution to tackle the problem of irresponsible disposal,” commented Karl-H. Foerster, the executive director of PlasticsEurope. “The Parliament’s plan leads to a situation in which some countries ban plastic bags, while others allow them. Such a patchwork of rules [are] against the idea of the existing legislation and detrimental to the free movement of goods in Europe: is this the beginning of the end of a success story?” he questioned. Foerster also criticised the decision to include a provision regarding CMRs and Endocrine Disruptors in packaging into the proposal. "Chemicals are already subject to existing regulations such as REACH and the Food Contact legislation. Consumer Protection requires clear and consistent rules” He said. Instead of creating new provisions, PlasticsEurope called upon decision makers in the Parliament and the Council to use the existing regulatory framework. "To effectively protect our environment, it would have been far better to focus on the implementation of existing EU waste legislation, in particular in those countries with no proper waste management,” Foerster concluded. Good news for biodegradable plastics Italian biodegradable plastics manufacturer, Novamont, meanwhile was somewhat more upbeat about the vote. According to the company, in the current state of affairs, the directive voted in by the European Parliament recognises the positive results of the Italian regulation on plastic bags in terms of transforming the problem of organic waste into a development opportunity. The company said that the Italian law has brought the consumption of single-use carrier bags down from around 180,000 tonnes in 2010 to around 90,000 tonnes in 2013. Novamont also claimed that it has also improved the quality and quantity of organic waste by creating a veritable model for separate waste collection, which works in the same way both in low population density areas and those of high density. (See WMW Story) “This ruling is a historical turning point because the European Parliament has for the first time clearly expressed itself by introducing a regulatory model aimed at minimising the production of waste and which, at the same time, also incentivises models that mimic biological systems and keep the resources used in circulation,” commented Catia Bastioli, CEO of Novamont. “The model is based on the virtuous development of the sector in which quality compost is produced from door-to-door type, separate collection of municipal waste and the evolution of research and innovation in the biodegradable bioplastics sector,” Bastioli added. Read More VIDEO: EU Report on Measures to Cut Plastic Bag Waste A report aimed at cutting waste from single use plastic bags has been approved by Members of the European Parliament's Environment Committee. UK Plastic Bag Use Up as 60 Percent of Shops Offer Recycling Some 8.1 billion single-use plastic bags were used by UK supermarket customers in 2012, according to the latest data from the WRAP – an increase of 1.3%. New York City Considers Disposable Bag Ban to Cut Waste New York City Council is considering proposals to impose a 10 cent charge on disposable plastic and paper bags in a bid to cut waste and litter.