In what may very well prove to be a revolutionary new measure, the European Commission is planning to ban single-use plastic items such as straws, cutlery, drink stirrers, and plates.
A draft of the proposed rules features ten items which will be banned, pending the approval of all the European Parliament and all member states.
In addition, the legislation will make the producers of plastic items responsible for bearing the costs of cleanup and waste disposal.
Shocking research estimates that — at our current rate of waste and production — the ocean will contain more plastic than fish (on a weight ratio) by 2050. That’s quite alarming, and bodes very badly for Finding Nemo 5: Wrapped In Plastic.
CNNMoney point out that at the moment only 14% of plastic is recycled, as opposed to 58% of paper.
It goes without saying that this is a global crisis.
We reported in March that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now double the size of NSW, and growing rapidly.
Woolies and Coles are already phasing out single-use plastic bags across Australia, which is another move worthy of applause.
Hopefully, a generation of ’80s and ’90s kids raised on cartoons like Captain Planet and Widget the World Watcher will be able to turn this tanker around. This proposed legislation is a great step forward. But there’s still plenty to do.
The power is yours.
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Heart? What a rort!
