The European Parliament urges ban on hazardous plastics
The most hazardous plastics and certain plastic bags should be banned by 2020
According to the European Parliament’s newly voted resolution, the most hazardous plastics and certain plastic bags should be banned by 2020 as a part of an EU strategy to reduce the amount of plastic waste in the environment. Besides the resolution, MEPs highlighted that the EU should also introduce binding plastic waste recycling targets as well.
As rapporteur Vittorio Prodi put it: “We said today that we want to change bad habits and account for our products, from production through to final disposal. By putting these products to good use and recycling them as much as possible, we close the loop and give effect to the concept of a 'circular' economy.”
According to the MEPs proposal, specific binding targets for collecting and sorting up to 80% of waste should be included in EU legislation. There should be mandatory criteria for recycling and harmonised ones for collecting and sorting waste in order to create the conditions of fair competition, and current EU directive on packaging waste should be reviewed as well.
The European Parliament also calls on the European Commission to develop proposals by 2014 in order to terminate the practice of landfilling recyclable and recoverable waste by 2020, and to divert such waste streams from incineration. They also urge that the energetic utilization of plastic waste shall be only the last resort for tackling this waste stream after all other waste management possibilities have been exhausted.
MEPs also urge a total ban on the most hazardous plastics and the withdrawing of single-use plastic bags from the market wherever possible. Since currently only 25% of plastic wastes is recycled, there is still a huge economic and job creation potential in this field.
The full article can be found on the website of the European Parliament.
A variety of household objects made out of plastic
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