To curb increased marine pollution, the EU announced a draft on the 28th, proposing to disable plastic straws, cotton swabs and other disposable plastic products.
According to the draft promulgated by the European Commission, there are 10 kinds of disposable plastic products listed on the 'black list', including plastic cutlery (including straws, knives, forks, etc.), cotton swabs, balloons and brackets, plastic lunch boxes, plastic cups, plastic bottles , cigarette butts, plastic bags, potato chips bags (sugar-containing paper) and wet wipes. In addition, fishing gear with plastic components is also 'listed on the list'.
According to the draft, the above-mentioned 10 disposable plastic products now account for 43% of European marine litter, and fishing gear containing plastic components accounts for 27% of European marine litter. Together they accounted for 70% of the total, becoming the most common plastic garbage in European beaches.
In order to prevent the further deterioration of marine pollution, the plan is to “classify and manage” these plastic wastes. Among them, plastic tableware, cotton swabs, and balloon holders are the most rigorous. The proposal is directly banned and replaced with more environmentally friendly products.
For plastic lunch boxes and plastic cups, the proposal proposes to substantially reduce market consumption; for plastic bottles, the scheme requires that the EU member states reach the goal of recycling 90% by 2025.
For balloons, cigarette butts, plastic bags, potato chips bags, wet tissues, and even fishing gear, the program puts pressure on manufacturers, requires them to invest in support for clean-up, recycling, waste disposal, environmental protection, etc., and also requires changes in the packaging of balloons and wet wipes. , Explicit environmental impact and proper disposal of waste.
After the draft was published on the 28th, the European Commission said that the next European Parliament and the European Council will conduct the review. After the approval of the draft, it will take effect. For this reason, the European Commission urges that the action be taken as soon as possible in order to achieve tangible progress before the election of the European Parliament next May.
At present, marine pollution is quite a headache for all countries. Plastic pollution is the largest source of pollution. According to statistics, about 10 to 20 million tons of plastic waste flows into the ocean each year, accounting for 85% of marine litter, and countless microplastics are even more important. Environmental concerns. Experts point out that microplastics not only poisons the marine food chain, causing the death of ingested marine organisms, and micro-plastics can exist for hundreds of years and will continue to endanger marine ecology.