European officials agree on ban of some single-use plastics

Belgium | Disposable plastic items, such as straws and polystyrene cups, will be banned in the European Union by 2021, EU officials agreed on 19 December 2018, as they passed measures to cut plastic use in a bid to reduce marine litter.

The proposed measures still need approval from EU member states and the EU parliament.

The plan entails the ban on products where alternatives are readily available and affordable, including plastic cotton swabs, cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers and sticks for balloons. EU member states will also have to implement measures to reduce the use of plastic food containers and drink cups. Producers will be made to help cover the costs of waste management and clean-up. Further, member states will have to collect 90 percent of single use plastic drink bottles by 2025.

The EU Commission proposed the plan in May 2018, having found that 80 percent of sea waste is plastic. The proposals were meant to target the top 10 single-use plastic products most often found on Europe's beaches and seas. It also found that just under a third of plastic waste is collected and recycled, and that most of the remaining waste ends up in seas and oceans.