Eurobarometer: majority of Belgians and Dutch support extra surcharge on single-use plastics

This is shown by the most recent Eurobarometer on the subject, published on behalf of the European Commission.

In the Netherlands, concern about the environmental impact of daily plastic products rose by eight percentage points over the past two years. 90% of Dutch people are concerned about it and 86% of Belgians (Eurobarometer, QA7.3 on page T16).

A large majority believes that an extra charge on single-use plastic products is important in the fight against plastic pollution: 62 per cent of Belgians and 71 per cent of Dutch people (Eurobarometer, QA12.3 on page T32, and table 1 at the bottom of this article).

Almost all Dutch (98%) and Belgians (94%) think it is important for industry and supermarkets to reduce the amount of plastic packaging. They thought so in 2017 too, for that matter. (QA12.4 on page T33 of the Eurobarometer).

Almost everyone agrees that plastic products should be designed in such a way that they are easily recyclable: very high scores of 95% of Belgians, and 97 per cent of Dutch people. This is once again an almost unanimous opinion. (QA12.5 on page T34 of the Eurobarometer).

92 per cent of Belgians and 89 per cent of Dutch people believe that municipalities should provide more and better collection facilities for plastic waste (QA12.1 on page T30 of the Eurobarometer). Belgians consider this the third most important measure in the fight against plastic waste pollution. Currently, Belgian collection is still organised using the blue bag system. This is a bag in which plastic, metal cans and beverage cartons must be placed, which is put on the pavement weekly.

The data can be found in the most recent Eurobarometer on the subject published on behalf of the European Commission. 27,498 people in the 28 EU member states were surveyed for this by Kantar.

Conclusion: European and national action needed

It is remarkable that such high percentages of Belgians and Dutch people are concerned about plastic pollution and also want to see significant policy measures to address it.

The European Single-Use Plastics Directive is a first step towards tackling plastic pollution. The directive bans a range of single-use plastics, requires producers to start paying for the clean-up of certain products from litter, demands 90 per cent separate collection of PET bottles, and a minimum content of recycled PET in new PET bottles. The fact that 10 European governments have decided to introduce a deposit system on plastic bottles over the past four years also fits into this context.

To address the concerns of Dutch and Belgian citizens, an ambitious transposition of the European directive into national law will be required.

At present, 70 to 80 per cent of Belgians believe that the EU, large companies and industry, and the national government are "not doing enough" to protect the environment (see Figure 1 below). More than 60 per cent of Dutch people also think so (Figure 2).

Table 1 Source Eurobarometer (PDF)

Figure 1 Source: Factsheet Belgium Eurobarometer

Figure 2 Source Factsheet Netherlands Eurobarometer

Table 2: attitude of Dutch and Belgians towards policy measures on single-use plastics Source Eurobarometer (PDF)

Percentage

Dutch

Belgians

concerned about environmental impact of plastic

90

86

municipal collection facilities

89

92

extra charge for single-use plastics

71

62

design must take recyclability into account

97

95

industry and retail must package less in plastic

98

94

This is shown by the most recent Eurobarometer on the subject, published on behalf of the European Commission.

In the Netherlands, concern about the environmental impact of daily plastic products rose by eight percentage points over the past two years. 90% of Dutch people are concerned about it and 86% of Belgians (Eurobarometer, QA7.3 on page T16).

A large majority believes that an extra charge on single-use plastic products is important in the fight against plastic pollution: 62 per cent of Belgians and 71 per cent of Dutch people (Eurobarometer, QA12.3 on page T32, and table 1 at the bottom of this article).

Almost all Dutch (98%) and Belgians (94%) think it is important for industry and supermarkets to reduce the amount of plastic packaging. They thought so in 2017 too, for that matter. (QA12.4 on page T33 of the Eurobarometer).

Almost everyone agrees that plastic products should be designed in such a way that they are easily recyclable: very high scores of 95% of Belgians, and 97 per cent of Dutch people. This is once again an almost unanimous opinion. (QA12.5 on page T34 of the Eurobarometer).

92 per cent of Belgians and 89 per cent of Dutch people believe that municipalities should provide more and better collection facilities for plastic waste (QA12.1 on page T30 of the Eurobarometer). Belgians consider this the third most important measure in the fight against plastic waste pollution. Currently, Belgian collection is still organised using the blue bag system. This is a bag in which plastic, metal cans and beverage cartons must be placed, which is put on the pavement weekly.

The data can be found in the most recent Eurobarometer on the subject published on behalf of the European Commission. 27,498 people in the 28 EU member states were surveyed for this by Kantar.

Conclusion: European and national action needed

It is remarkable that such high percentages of Belgians and Dutch people are concerned about plastic pollution and also want to see significant policy measures to address it.

The European Single-Use Plastics Directive is a first step towards tackling plastic pollution. The directive bans a range of single-use plastics, requires producers to start paying for the clean-up of certain products from litter, demands 90 per cent separate collection of PET bottles, and a minimum content of recycled PET in new PET bottles. The fact that 10 European governments have decided to introduce a deposit system on plastic bottles over the past four years also fits into this context.

To address the concerns of Dutch and Belgian citizens, an ambitious transposition of the European directive into national law will be required.

At present, 70 to 80 per cent of Belgians believe that the EU, large companies and industry, and the national government are "not doing enough" to protect the environment (see Figure 1 below). More than 60 per cent of Dutch people also think so (Figure 2).

Table 1 Source Eurobarometer (PDF)

Figure 1 Source: Factsheet Belgium Eurobarometer

Figure 2 Source Factsheet Netherlands Eurobarometer

Table 2: attitude of Dutch and Belgians towards policy measures on single-use plastics Source Eurobarometer (PDF)