EU council bans single-use plastics for cleaner beaches

By Zeynep Beyza Kilic

ANKARA (AA) - The European Union (EU) introduced new restrictions on Tuesday on certain single-use plastic products in an effort to reduce marine litter from sea and land.

Under the new rules, single-use plastic plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks and cotton buds will be banned by 2021.

Member states agreed to achieve a 90% collection target for plastic bottles by 2029. Plastic bottles will have to contain at least 25% of recycled content by 2025 and 30% by 2030.

"To focus efforts where they are most needed, this directive should cover only those single-use plastic products that are found the most on beaches in the Union as well as fishing gear containing plastic and products made from oxo-degradable plastic," the council said.

The single-use plastic products under the directive are estimated to represent around 86% of the single-use plastics found, in counts, on beaches in the EU.

Previously, talks with the European Parliament ended in a provisional agreement on Dec. 19, 2018, which was confirmed by EU ambassadors of the member states on Jan. 18, 2019.