EU parliament and council agree to ban single-use plastics

According to an official press release, the presidency of the Council reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament to ban single-use plastic items such as plates, cutlery, straws, and cotton buds, as well as oxo-plastics and certain PS products.

Under the provisional agreement, cutlery, plates, straws and cotton bud sticks made of plastics will be banned from 2021. Products made from oxo-degradable plastic, as well as food and beverage containers, and cups of beverages made of EPS will also be banned.

The proposal under discussion, which is part of the EU’s plastics strategy, was first presented by the European Commission in late May 2018. The Council and the Parliament reached their positions on the proposal in late October and they began trialogue negotiations with the Commission on November 6, which ended in a provisional agreement on December 10.

The agreement will be presented to the EU ambassadors of member states for their endorsement. If confirmed, the directive will then be submitted to the Parliament for approval and then back to the Council for final adoption. The Environment committee is expected to vote on the text in January 2019.