Germany and Netherlands to ban some single-use plastics from next year

The decision, which is is part of an EU initiative, will see plastic plates, cutlery, stirrers, straws and food containers banned.

Alongside the ban, the Netherlands plans to introduce other measures to reduce single-use plastic consumption, including improved recycling possibilities for plastic products, and better information about reusable alternatives. 

The ban means the countries will fall in line with an EU directive to reduce waste and will come into effect from July 3, 2021.

The new law, that was agreed last year, will also see plastic balloon sticks and polystyrene cups included as part of the ban.

The European Parliament also said that member states will have to achieve a 90% collection target for plastic bottles by 2029, and plastic bottles will have to contain at least 25% of recycled content by 2025 and 30% by 2030.

German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze, said on Wednesday after the decision that it was part of an effort to move away from a “throw-away culture.”

“Many single-use plastic products are superfluous and non-sustainable use of resources,” Schulze said.

“Far too often, plastics end up in the environment or the oceans… If global littering continues, we will have more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050.” 

According to data published by the Federal Enviornmental Agency (UBA), Germany amassed a record 18.7 million tons of packaging waste in 2017.

Meanwhile, Netherlands Minister for the Environment Stientje van Veldhoven, said this ban was a good step towards tackling the so-called plastic soup (plastic soep) in the world’s oceans.

In recent years, many countries have sought to tackle plastic bag waste by charging customers who choose to use them.

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