The proposal of the EU Regulations on Packaging and Packaging Wastes (PPWR) was issued on November 30, which was directly upgraded from "directive" to "regulation". If the new regulations are implemented, they will have legal effect at the EU level.
The European Soft Drink Association said PPWR posed a "survival" threat to the industry. The industry alliance composed of 62 companies in the European packaging value chain issued a statement saying that PPWR will set back the European transformation process. The European Plastics Association believes that the proposal contains many positive factors and will become a "catalyst" for the transformation of the plastic packaging industry. PPWR will bring demand for recycled materials to China. At the same time, there are many plastic packaging products facing the European market in China, and PPWR has new requirements for packaging.
In order to reduce the use of plastic products, the British government plans to ban disposable plastic dinner plates, knives, forks and spoons in England and replace them with biodegradable products. Currently, Scotland and Wales have implemented similar restrictions.
According to CNN on the 14th, a spokesman for the Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the United Kingdom reported that the British government has banned disposable plastic straws, mixing rods, plastic swabs and other products, but "decided to go faster and farther in terms of reducing, reusing and recycling resources".
The spokesman said that the Ministry had consulted the public once on the new restrictions on plastic products in England. According to the Financial Times, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Tracy Coffey, will announce the details of the new regulations in the coming weeks.
The British government said in the public consultation document that plastic tableware is one of the 15 most common types of rubbish in Britain. In England alone, residents use 1.1 billion disposable dinner plates and 4.25 billion disposable knives, forks, spoons and other tableware every year, equivalent to about 20 dinner plates and 77 knives, forks, spoons and other tableware per capita. Only 10% of these mountains of plastic waste will be recycled.
According to CNN, research has confirmed that restrictions can effectively reduce the use of plastic products. A study published in 2018 showed that after the ban on free plastic bags, the number of plastic bags on the seabed in the UK sea area decreased significantly.
A report issued by the United Nations Environment Programme last year showed that plastic pollution has become a huge challenge facing mankind. Without restriction, the amount of plastic waste entering the aquatic ecosystem may reach 37 million tons by 2040, nearly three times the current amount. In addition, as disposable plastic products are made of fossil fuels, their "life stages" will produce carbon emissions, which will also accelerate climate change.