EU May Ban Single-Use Plastic Across Europe

Single-use plastics are the many disposable plastics that are only used once before they are discarded or recycled. They include items such as plastic bags, straws, water bottles, and many forms of food packaging and the European Commission’s Vice-President of the Executive Cabinet, Frans Timmerman, hinted that the EU may soon be banning them. The statement came in response to Michael Gove, British Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs who stated that he had “some concern” that the EU may prevent the UK from banning plastic straws. Timmerman responded via Twitter saying “One step ahead of you. EU legislation on single-use plastics coming before the summer. Maybe you can align with us?” he wrote (using the hashtag #EUDoesntSuck). Scotland, which is part of the EU, previously announced plans to ban plastic cotton swabs and plastic straws by 2019. Timmerman stated that the EU is partnering with businesses to find ways to recycle and reuse more plastic in order to reduce microplastic pollution.