Will the European Parliament save our seas from plastic soup?

‘The Netherlands and Belgium are currently taking the lead in the talks for a strong Directive. However, within some parties, such as the European People's Party (EPP), there is also resistance against several measures. We hope that the Dutch and Belgian representatives within the EPP, such as Annie Schreijer-Pierik (CDA) and Ivo Belet (CD&V), will sound a progressive note in their political group,’ say Rob Buurman and Suze Govers of Recycling Netwerk.

The text that the plenary is voting on on Tuesday is substantial. The basic proposal for the single-use plastic Directive by the European Commission was strong. Despite heavy lobbying by the plastic industry, the European Environment Committee Envi, led by Belgian MEP Frédérique Ries (MR, ALDE), has strengthened the text on several points.

For instance, the environment committee supports the 90 percent separate collection of plastic bottles and the extended producer responsibility for the costs of cleaning up plastic litter. This is a good thing, because that bill (for example, 250 million euros annually in the Netherlands and 164 million euros in Flanders) currently largely ends up with the municipalities, and therefore the taxpayers.

Loopholes

The plenary of the European Parliament still needs to close a loophole in the legislation. ‘Due to a poor definition of “single-use plastic”, producers could decide to label their disposable products as fake “reusable”, and thus bypass the entire Directive. If the European Parliament takes itself seriously, it will close this backdoor,’ says Suze Govers of Recycling Netwerk Benelux.

It will also be important to watch out for plastic lobbying around disposable cutlery and plates. The Commission and Envi proposal bans these. The Italians are trying to create an exception for disposable cutlery and plates in so-called ‘closed loop systems’. Scandinavian countries with a strong paper industry, such as Sweden, are in turn trying to get disposable paper products with a thin plastic layer exempted from the entire Directive.

The soft drinks industry is lobbying heavily against the Commission's proposal that caps must remain attached to plastic bottles. It has achieved that the Envi proposal gives carbonated drinks a delay of several years. But now soft drink producers such as Coca-Cola, Pepsico and Nestlé are lobbying to scrap the measure entirely. However, the technology to attach caps to bottles has existed for a long time. It is a highly effective measure to tackle bottle caps, one of the most frequently found items on European beaches and seas. This is especially true when combined with the target for 90% separate collection of plastic bottles, and therefore caps, Recycling Netwerk and the other European environmental organisations say in unison.

European Council

In the European Council, some Eastern European countries are still opposing the extended producer responsibility and the 90% separate collection. They are advocating for a watering down. However, that would mean that plastic pollution would continue for years to come. We hope that the Netherlands and Belgium, with their pioneering role, can convince other member states to stop the plastic pollution of our sea, concludes Recycling Netwerk Benelux.

Recycling Netwerk Benelux, Friends of the Earth, Zero Waste Europe, CIEL and Surfrider Foundation are in Brussels alongside other European environmental organisations to advocate for a strong Directive that genuinely tackles the plastic soup.

Read also our in-depth analysis of the political process surrounding the single-use plastic directive here.