Single-use plastics and fishing gear: reducing marine litter from plastics

In “Environment, Public Health and Food Safety - ENVI”

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For a brief overview of the key points of the adopted text and its significance for the citizen, please see the corresponding summary note.

About three quarters of the marine litter in the world's seas is plastic. On European beaches, the European Commission estimates that plastics make up 80–85 % of marine litter by count, and that single-use plastics account for about half of all marine litter by count. Most of the plastic in our oceans originates from land-based sources, except in the North-East Atlantic where sea-based litter is equally important.

Besides being a major threat to marine and costal biodiversity, marine litter induces socio-economic impacts. Degradation as a result of marine litter is estimated to cost the EU economy between €259 million and €695 million per year, affecting mainly the tourism and recreation sector and the fisheries sector. Both sectors are also a source of marine litter.

In May 2018, as announced in the strategy for plastics in a circular economy, the European Commission put forward a legislative proposal seeking to address the issue of marine litter from plastics. The proposal focuses on the top 10 single-use plastics items found on beaches as well as on fishing gear. It would introduce a differentiated approach for the items concerned. Proposed measures can be summarised as follows:

  • measures intended to reduce consumption (for food containers; and cups for beverages);
  • market restrictions (on cotton bud sticks; cutlery, plates, stirrers and straws; sticks for balloons);
  • product design requirements (for beverage containers and bottles, whose caps and lids would need to remain attached to the bottle);
  • marking requirements (for balloons; wet wipes; and sanitary towels);
  • extended producer responsibility requirements (for food containers; cups for beverages; balloons; packets and wrappers; beverage containers and bottles; tobacco product filters; wet wipes; lightweight plastic carrier bags; and fishing gear);
  • separate collection objective (for beverage bottles, set at 90 %);
  • awareness raising measures (for food containers; cups for beverages; balloons; packets and wrappers; beverage containers and bottles; tobacco product filters; wet wipes; sanitary towels; lightweight plastic carrier bags; and fishing gear).

According to Commission estimates, the proposed Directive would, by 2030, reduce marine litter on EU beaches by about a quarter; avoid the emission of 3.4 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent; avoid environmental damages which would cost the equivalent of €22 billion; and save consumers a projected €6.5 billion.

In its position adopted on 24 October 2018, the European Parliament introduces following changes to the proposal:

  • widening the scope of market restrictions (bans) to include products made of oxo-degradable plastic, as well as expanded polystyrene food and drink containers used to contain food that is intended for immediate consumption from the receptacle without further preparation;
  • introducing quantitative targets on the consumption of certain products: requiring Member States to reduce the consumption of single-use drinks cups and food containers by at least 25 % by 2025, and to reduce plastic cigarette filters waste by 50 % by 2025 and by 80 % by 2030;
  • setting minimum recycled content of 35 % for drink bottles, to be met by 2025;
  • modifying the scope of labelling requirements: extending them to cigarette filters, some packets and wrappers, and drinks cups; removing labelling requirements for balloons;
  • as regards hazardous substances, requiring labels to mention the presence of chemicals of concern, and banning the use of hazardous chemicals in sanitary towels and tampons;
  • requiring extended producer responsibility schemes for plastic cigarette filters to cover the costs of waste collection, transport and treatment, including clean-up and awareness raising costs;
  • on fishing gear, setting a minimum collection rate of 50 % and a recycling target of 15 %, both to be met by 2025, and requesting the development of a standard on the circular design of fishing gear; and
  • requiring the Commission and Member States to set up, by 2020, a Union-wide programme for cleaning up plastic waste in the oceans; requiring the Commission to develop guidelines on the functioning of deposit-refund schemes, and to review the directive five years (instead of six) after its transposition, setting, if appropriate, binding quantitative consumption reduction targets at EU level.

The Council adopted its general approach on 31 October 2018. It includes following elements:

  • extending the scope of market restrictions to expanded polystyrene cups for beverages;
  • extending the obligations to cover the costs of litter clean-up to companies which import or sell single-use plastic products or packaging in Europe;
  • modifying provisions related to extended producer responsibility schemes.

Interinstitutional negotiations, launched in November 2018, delivered a provisional agreement on 19 December 2018. As Parliament requested, the agreed text extends the scope of market restrictions to oxo-degradable plastic products and certain expanded polystyrene food and drinks containers. It sets binding targets for recycled plastic content in bottles of 25% by 2025 (for PET bottles) and 30% by 2030 (for all bottles); adds tobacco products with filters and plastic cups to the list of items subject to labelling requirements (but removes this requirement for balloons); and clarifies the costs to be covered by tobacco product producers as part of the extended producer responsibility scheme. Concerning fishing gear, Member States would be required to set up national minimum annual collection rates of waste fishing gear for recycling and to monitor fishing gear placed on the market, as well as waste fishing gear collected, with a view to the establishment of binding quantitative EU-wide collection targets.

After completion of the legislative procedure, the final act was signed on 5 June 2019, and published one week later in the EU Official Journal. Member States have until 3 July 2021 to transpose the new directive into national law.

References:

Further reading:

Author: Vivienne Halleux, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu

Visit the European Parliament homepages on plastic waste and circular economy

As of 20/11/2019.