Brussels launches first EU-wide strategy to fight plastic waste

The European Union has launched the first ever EU-wide strategy to combat plastic waste, including measures to make all plastic packaging in Europe recyclable or reusable by 2030 and phase out single-use plastic like coffee cups.

The plans were unveiled after China, a major destination for European plastic waste reprocessing, banned foreign imports and after an unprecedented swell of public concern over the issue, sparked by programmes such as the BBC’s Blue Planet.

The European Commission, which put forward the strategy today, said its proposals would boost business opportunities by creating new recycling markets in Europe and change the way products are produced, designed and recycled.

"The Chinese decision is undoubtedly a big challenge but let's turn that challenge into an opportunity," said Frans Timmermans, the commission first vice-president and Jean-Claude Juncker’s deputy at a press conference in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

“If we don’t do anything about this, 50 years down the road we will have more plastic than fish in the oceans,” Mr Timmermans said earlier before citing shocking images of marine plastic waste shown in Blue Planet.

The commission wants 55 per cent of all plastic to be recycled by 2030 and for its member states to reduce the use of plastic bags per person from 90 a year to 40 by 2026.

There are plans to ban microplastics from being added to cosmetics and personal care products, a move already taken by the British government. Microplastics can find their way into human bodies through food.

Proposals for an EU-wide tax on plastics, which were floated last week by Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger to plug a hole of up to €15 billion euros in the bloc's budget caused by Brexit, were missing from the strategy. Officials are understood to be researching how feasible the idea is.

"We have not found a way to introduce a European-wide plastic tax yet," Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, who is responsible for jobs and investment, said. "It is too early to promise anything."

The commission put forward the strategy as a first step towards eventual EU legislation. It has earmarked £310m for research into new more easily degradable and recyclable plastic.

Mr Timmermans told reporters: "We must stop plastics getting into our water, our food, and even our bodies. The only long-term solution is to reduce plastic waste by recycling and reusing more."

Backing EU campaigns to raise awareness, Mr Timmermans urged parents to tell their children that a plastic straw took only a second to use but 500 years to degrade  

Prince Charles and others held an EU-backed conference last year for drastic action to stop eight million tonnes of plastic waste polluting the world's oceans annually.

The commission said Europeans generate 25 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, but less than 30 per cent is collected for recycling.

Last week, Theresa May announced her own war on plastic waste, setting out plans to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within 25 years.

Among the proposals were plans for a tax on takeaway containers and plastics-free aisles in supermarkets.