EU sounds out public on reducing use of plastic bags

EU – The European Commission is asking the public how best to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags.

In a web-based consultation running until August 2011, it will ask if charging and taxation would be effective, or whether a more draconian option such as an EU-level ban on plastic carrier bags is the way forward. Opinions will also be sought on increasing the visibility of biodegradable packaging products, and boosting the biodegradability requirements for packaging.
Every year, each EU citizen consumes approximately 500 plastic carrier bags, and most of them are used only once. The bags produced in Europe in 2008 weighed 3.4 million tonnes. Yet their small size means they often escape waste management systems and end up in the marine environment, where they take many years to decay.
EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: ‘Fifty years ago, the single-use plastic bag was almost unheard of – now we use them for a few minutes and they pollute our environment for decades. It is suffocating our environment.
‘But social attitudes are evolving and there is a widespread desire for change. That’s why we are looking at all the options, including a Europe-wide ban on plastic carrier bags,’ he added. ‘We need the views of as many people as possible to complement our scientific analyses and help drive policy on this issue.’
Some member states have already taken action to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags through pricing measures, agreements with the retail sector and bans on certain types of bags, but no specific measures exist at EU level. In March, European environment ministers discussed the environmental impact of plastic carrier bags in a move suggesting that EU-wide action may be on the way.
The consultation will also gather views on the adequacy of current requirements on compostability and biodegradability in the EU Packaging Directive. The Directive makes no clear distinction between biodegradable products that should biodegrade in natural conditions in the environment, and compostable products that only biodegrade in industrial composting facilities. Some observers argue that advertising a packaging product as biodegradable when it will not biodegrade in natural conditions is misleading, and contributes to the proliferation of litter.