European Parliament speaks out against single-use plastics

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The text banning a dozen single-use plastic objects was approved by the European Parliament 571 votes to 53, Wednesday 24 October. REUTERS / Vincent Kessler

Meeting in plenary session in Strasbourg, the MEPs adopted this Wednesday a text banning a dozen plastic objects for single use, such as cotton swabs or coffee cakes. The draft directive has received the consent of a large part of the European hemicycle.

With our special correspondent in Strasbourg, Anastasia Becchio

The text was approved by a large majority: 571 to 53. A result that the Belgian Liberal MEP Frédérique Ries, who had brought the proposal for a directive, welcomed with a broad smile. " It disfigures our beaches, it kills our oceans, it kills our animals and (...) it affects human health. So if there are alternatives, it is prohibited, "summed up the elected after the votes.

The text proposes the outright prohibition of six everyday objects that can be made of durable materials rather than plastic, such as cutlery, straws, cocktail mixers ... Their list was established by analyzing the detritus most frequently found on European coasts. They alone account for 70% of marine pollution.

Other products include cigarette filters, polystyrene fast-food packaging and "oxo-plastic" products, which are supposed to be biodegradable but actually break up into tiny particles of plastic that are just as dangerous to health.

For Belgian Socialist MP Marc Tarabella, all these decisions go in the right direction. " It's about eliminating all this pollution that obviously causes a lot of damage. I hope that in the negotiations, Parliament will hold this strong position vis-à-vis the Council, which is generally more conservative and perhaps more concerned with the interests of industry than consumers and the environment, "he said.

The Member States will now have to decide on this text, which will then be the subject of negotiations between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission. MEPs are considering the entry into force of the new rules by 2021.