(28 May 2018) – The European Commission is proposing new EU-wide rules to target the 10 single-use plastic products most often found on Europe’s beaches and seas, as well as lost and abandoned fishing gear.
Together these constitute 70% of all marine litter items. Different measures will be applied to different products.
Where alternatives are readily available and affordable, single-use plastic products will be banned from the market.
For products without straight-forward alternatives, the focus is on limiting their use through a national reduction in consumption; design and labelling requirements and waste management/clean-up obligations for producers.