UK and EU prepare for single use plastic bans
Single use plastic products are no longer just being discouraged – both the UK and the European Union are set to make some of these products illegal. As Defra produces draft legislation banning plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers
and the EU continues work on its SUPs directive, Lucy Pegg examines the details of the upcoming laws.
Single use plastic products, often known as SUPs, have littered the headlines in recent years – and soon they will be on the statute book too.
From plastic drinks bottles to the wrapper on your sandwich, law makers in both the UK and EU governments are working to crack down on the waste created by these everyday items.
In the next five years policy on SUPs will see a number of items banned, with Extended Producer Responsibility schemes and taxes brought in to discourage the consumption of other disposable plastics.
Defra
Amidst the announcements and arguments over Brexit, some within Westminster are working on more niche projects – including a proposed 2020 ban on plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers.
The ban was first announced by the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, in April 2018 and is now set to come into force in England on 6 April 2020, after draft legislation for it was published this week.
If passed by parliament it will become an offence to supply an end user with a single use plastic straw, cotton bud or stirrer, with those who break the ban facing a fine or compliance order.
But despite the apparent ‘ban’ on these single-use products, there are a number of exceptions included in Defra’s draft legislation.
As well as ensuring that plastic straws remain accessible for medical and accessibility purposes, it is also proposed that plastic straws attached to drinks containers (like juice cartons) remain legal.
Straws will also remain available with food and drinks that are to be consumed immediately from outlets like cafes or fast food venues. However these will have to be kept behind the counter and will only be given to customers when
they ask for them – the exemption hopes to avoid forcing staff to make a judgement about whether a consumer needs a plastic straw for accessibility reasons.
European Union
The EU is working on its own legislation to restrict the use of SUPs which, once implemented, will go further than that so far being proposed in Westminster.
In March the European Parliament approved measures proposed by the European Commission which hope to tackle marine litter by limiting the use of disposable plastic. This includes bans on selected single-use plastic items for which
non-plastic alternatives exist – including expanded polystyrene food and beverage containers and all products made of oxo-degradable plastic, as well as specific items like cotton bud sticks, cutlery and sticks for balloons.
These bans will come into action on 3 July 2021. It has been made clear that biodegradable plastic options will not be considered as SUP alternatives by the Commission.
and the EU continues work on its SUPs directive, Lucy Pegg examines the details of the upcoming laws.
Single use plastic products, often known as SUPs, have littered the headlines in recent years – and soon they will be on the statute book too.
From plastic drinks bottles to the wrapper on your sandwich, law makers in both the UK and EU governments are working to crack down on the waste created by these everyday items.
In the next five years policy on SUPs will see a number of items banned, with Extended Producer Responsibility schemes and taxes brought in to discourage the consumption of other disposable plastics.
Defra
Amidst the announcements and arguments over Brexit, some within Westminster are working on more niche projects – including a proposed 2020 ban on plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers.
The ban was first announced by the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, in April 2018 and is now set to come into force in England on 6 April 2020, after draft legislation for it was published this week.
If passed by parliament it will become an offence to supply an end user with a single use plastic straw, cotton bud or stirrer, with those who break the ban facing a fine or compliance order.
But despite the apparent ‘ban’ on these single-use products, there are a number of exceptions included in Defra’s draft legislation.
As well as ensuring that plastic straws remain accessible for medical and accessibility purposes, it is also proposed that plastic straws attached to drinks containers (like juice cartons) remain legal.
Straws will also remain available with food and drinks that are to be consumed immediately from outlets like cafes or fast food venues. However these will have to be kept behind the counter and will only be given to customers when
they ask for them – the exemption hopes to avoid forcing staff to make a judgement about whether a consumer needs a plastic straw for accessibility reasons.
European Union
The EU is working on its own legislation to restrict the use of SUPs which, once implemented, will go further than that so far being proposed in Westminster.
In March the European Parliament approved measures proposed by the European Commission which hope to tackle marine litter by limiting the use of disposable plastic. This includes bans on selected single-use plastic items for which
non-plastic alternatives exist – including expanded polystyrene food and beverage containers and all products made of oxo-degradable plastic, as well as specific items like cotton bud sticks, cutlery and sticks for balloons.
These bans will come into action on 3 July 2021. It has been made clear that biodegradable plastic options will not be considered as SUP alternatives by the Commission.
