What to know about the EU's single-use plastics ban
The European Union's ban on single-use plastics (SUP) came into force on Saturday, meaning that many common items previously made with SUP will no longer be available in the bloc.
Ten SUP items are now prohibited under the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive 2019 including cotton bud sticks, plates, cutlery, hot drink stirrers, straws, chopsticks and polystyrene food and beverage containers. Also on the list are oxo-degradable plastic bags which while marketed as being biodegradable, according to the EU, break down into microplastics and linger in the environment for centuries.
As the name suggests, single-use plastics are used once, then disposed of. Disposable single-use plastics make up around 70% of Europe's marine litter. Now cafes, bars and restaurants are forced to stock cups, straws and cutlery made from bamboo, cellulose or other biodegradable materials. Old stocks of the products may be used up first.
The objective of the EU Directive is "to prevent and reduce the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, in particular the aquatic environment, and on human health, as well as to promote the transition to a circular economy with innovative and sustainable business models, products and materials."
Read more: 94% of polymers to avoid safety checks under EU draft law, experts warn
Many EU states have slowly been bringing in pre-emptive legislation to tackle the issue of SUP. For example, a ban on polystyrene food containers was introduced in Germany in November 2020.
Some countries have gone further with their own national legislation, adding other items to the EU's list. France banned plastic cups, plates and cotton buds in February 2020 along with much of its fruit and vegetable packaging, as well as confetti and plastic toys that come with children's meals. In Belgium and Italy, a plastics tax has been introduced as an attempt to disincentivise the use of SUP. In Greece, their use has been outlawed in all government agencies since February this year.
Some EU states however are taking longer to meet the EU requirements. Poland, for example, missed the bloc's deadline, with its own bill on SUP still being "subject to public consultations".
Ultimately, all member states will have to fall in line with a waste-free circular economy model by 2030 or face the possibility of fines or sanctions from Brussels.
Crucially, the ban does not immediately cover a range of items such as wet wipes, sanitary items, plastic bottles and cigarette butts - the most littered item in the world - which are to be phased out more slowly.
Read more: New Zealand to phase out single-use plastics by 2025
The EU is aiming to limit these items via other means like using "awareness-raising measures", bringing in design elements such as the requirement that caps be attached to the bottles they come with, and introducing waste-management and clean-up obligations for manufacturers.
Plastic bottles - of which 1.3 billion are sold around the world daily - are not covered by the Directive. Made of PET, these bottles are recyclable, though at present only 65% of PET bottles are collected for recycling with the remainder taking hundreds of years to decompose.
The SUP Directive sets a collection target for PET bottles of 77% by 2025, going up to 90% by 2029. The bottles should also contain a minimum of 25% recycled plastic, as opposed to virgin plastic, by 2025.
There are also more stringent regulations for manufacturers of PET bottles as part of the "extended producer responsibility" contained in the Directive. Based on the "polluter pays" principle, manufacturers will have to pay for the cost of waste management as well as for raising awareness about the environmental impact of the products and the most sustainable methods for their disposal.
Read more: Europe Faces Challenges In Meeting Plastic Bottle Recovery Target
Article 8 of the SUP Directive states that tobacco companies must pay for the clean-up of cigarette butts containing plastic filters.
It is estimated that 4.5 trillion cigarette butts, which are made with cellulose acetate - a polymer that breaks down especially slowly - are discarded annually across the world. Tobacco companies are not forced to label packets and butts as such to raise awareness.
Many environmental activists are calling for an outright ban on plastic butts, though this is not scheduled to take place until 2027 when the list of banned SUPS is set to be updated.
One interim solution has been touted by the company Green Butts, which has pitched its water-dispersable filter to the European Commission on social media, with claims that its product is made with sustainable natural fibres and can biodegrade in days.
There is also an exemption for medical-related SUP including "pandemic plastics", such as facemasks and gloves, which have become widespread during the Covid-19 pandemic and many of which are now in landfills or in marine environments.
"Imports of face masks into the EU more than doubled compared with business as usual before the pandemic," said the European Environment Agency. The increase happened while EU production was also increasing.
During the first six months of the pandemic alone, around 170,000 tonnes of plastic-based facemasks were introduced in the bloc, with growing calls to find alternatives.
Read more: 3 giants partner on closed-loop recycling pilot for single-use facemasks
Also exempt from the directive are natural polymers that have not been chemically modified. Sustainable materials not considered chemically modified include regenerated cellulose, the most abundant natural polymer on the planet.
Used to create a sturdy, transparent and totally biodegradable film that is also largely resistant to water, grease and oil, the material was long used to package food before the introduction of oil-based plastics.
SUP items such as cutlery and cotton bud sticks are likely to be replaced by compostable bamboo which is cheap and easy to grow.
Some countries, such as France and Belgium, have banned the use of the term "biodegradable" on products labels to avoid "greenwashing", which the countries' governments say encourages packaging consumption.
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