Single-use plastics directive is approved in the European Parliament

The European Parliament has approved the final text of the draft “Directive on the reduction of certain types of plastics” during its plenary session.

The final edition was agreed during negotiations between the Parliament and the Council before Christmas of 2018, before being approved by the Environment Committee in January 2019.

Prior to the vote, MEPs have debated on their positions, with the majority praising the initiative of the European Commission and urging to keep on working on plastics, ranging from micro and nanoplastics, to endocrine disruptors in packaging.

However, some MEPs have also shared their concerns about the speed of the legislative process, the losses of jobs and the danger of similar short-sighted policies that do not take into consideration other single use materials, alternatives, and the overall lack of enforcement by Member States.

The Directive has been approved by a large majority of MEPs with 560 in favour, 35 not in favour, and 28 abstentions.

The European Plastics Converters acknowledged the need for a clean environment and seas, but considered the legislative act and the text flawed, both on merit and on the procedural steps to hurry the overall legislative process.

Alexandre Dangis, the EuPC Managing Director, said: “We regret the adoption of such a regulatory act, discriminated a material that has such a crucial role in solving the current challenges for a society globally in the decades to come.”

“This vote will have a direct negative environmental impact and lead to thousands of job losses all over Europe. It furthermore dictates countries and people how to live and change consumption habits without focusing on what’s key, namely education and anti-littering behaviour.”

“Regrettably, no proper impact assessment or LCAs have been done within the extraordinarily short timeframe as EU politicians were carried on the wave of fighting for a so-called good cause.”