In Germany and all other EU member states, all single-use plastic products are to disappear from the market from this Saturday.
This provides for an EU directive on the ban on plastic dishes from 2019.
The ban, which comes into force on July 3, 2021, affects disposable products such as single-use cutlery and plates, drinking straws, stirring sticks, cotton swabs and plastic balloon sticks.
To-go containers and drinks cups made of Styrofoam are also no longer allowed to come onto the market.
From now on, retailers are obliged to use reusable alternatives made of glass or metal.
Single-use products that are still in stock can still be sold.
The German trade association assumes that there are “still larger quantities” that the trade would have to sell.
According to its own information, the association does not have any more precise figures.
Disposable plates, cups or cutlery made of bio-based or biodegradable plastics are also prohibited.
The same applies to disposable tableware made of cardboard, only a small part of which is made of plastic or is covered with plastic.
"Plastic is deeply rooted in our society"
According to a team of researchers from Germany, Sweden and Norway, annual plastic pollution in water and on land could almost double between 2016 and 2025 if people continue as before. The global input of plastic into lakes, rivers and oceans in 2016 was estimated to have been 9 to 23 million tons. A similarly large amount (13 to 25 million tons) ended up in the environment on land that year, according to the article, which was published on Thursday in the science magazine "Science" within a focus on plastic.
“Plastic is deeply rooted in our society and it seeps into the environment everywhere, even in countries with good waste treatment infrastructure,” said Matthew MacLeod of Stockholm University. The emissions are tending to increase, although the awareness of plastic pollution in science and the public has increased significantly in recent years. Researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute (Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, AWI) in Bremerhaven and the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig were also involved in the review. Mine Tekman at AWI warned against the impression that anything can be “magically” recycled if plastic waste is properly separated.
"Technologically speaking, plastic recycling has many limitations and countries that have good infrastructure export their plastic waste to countries with poorer facilities," she said.
There is also a fundamental problem with non-biodegradable materials.
She therefore called for drastic measures, such as a ban on the export of plastic waste, unless it takes place in a country with better recycling.
Labeling of disposable products is also coming
"Technologically speaking, plastic recycling has many limitations and countries that have good infrastructure export their plastic waste to countries with poorer facilities," she said.
There is also a fundamental problem with non-biodegradable materials.
She therefore called for drastic measures, such as a ban on the export of plastic waste, unless it takes place in a country with better recycling.
The national implementation of the EU directive on the prohibition of plastic dishes is the responsibility of the individual member states. According to a spokeswoman for the European Parliament, more reliable data on the status of implementation will only be available after the deadline on July 3. In Germany, in addition to the prohibition of the above-mentioned articles, special labeling of disposable products comes into force, for which there are no alternative offers yet.
This includes hygiene products, to-go cups made of and with plastic, and cigarettes with plastic filters. The marking is intended to warn consumers of environmental damage caused by plastic and to inform them about the correct disposal. Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) welcomed the innovations. "This ban will soon lead to better, innovative and environmentally friendly products and solutions," said the minister