New draft EU regulations propose to tackle the problems of increasing plastic waste and ban mini shampoo bottles along with disposable cups
The European Union has proposed a plan that would require member states to reduce the quantity of packaging waste produced per capita by 15 percent. According to a new draft EU regulation in a report from the Guardian on Wednesday, November 30, the member states will require to achieve these objectives before 2040. The EU has also proposed to put a ban on mini-shampoo bottles in hotels and disposable cups used in cafes and restaurants.
The report said, the proposal also requires single-use plastics drink bottles and metal cans to be used on a mandatory scheme based on deposit and return. Aside from this, plans are to stop e-commerce businesses from using larger boxes for smaller items.
“The way goods are packaged can and should be done a lot better,” said Frans Timmermans, executive vice-president European Commission, the report states. “We want more packaging to be reusable, because we cannot recycle ourselves out of a growing stream of waste”, added Timmermans. He also said overpackaging of products is a big problem and is increasingly damaging our environment.
The report also said, according to official statistics, an average European produces over 180Kgs of plastic waste every year and this figure is expected to increase by 19% by 2030.
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