European Council adopts strict rules on single-use plastic products
The Council of the European Union has adopted the Single-Use Plastics Directive, which includes a ban on selected single-use plastic products that pollute our oceans.
The European Union is creating a new legal basis for the sustainable use of plastics. To this end, the Council of the European Union today adopted the Single-Use Plastics Directive. The approval of member states was the last step in the European legislative process. The Directive includes a ban on selected single-use plastic products that end up as marine litter. With this Directive, the European Union wants to sharply reduce the volume of marine litter entering the world’s oceans. In addition, the Directive lays down the minimum amount of recycled plastic to be used in plastic bottles and makes it possible to distribute a greater share of waste removal costs to certain branches of industry.