Review Could See EU-wide Ban on Plastic Carrier Bags

23 May 2011

With the average EU citizen consuming 500 plastic carrier bags each year, the European Commission has announced it is investigating how best to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags across Europe

Ideas that have been considered include charging, taxation or whether a flat out EU-level ban would be most effective to the cause.

Ways on how to address confusion over what plastic packaging is biodegradable and what is not is also being sought; by increasing the visibility of biodegradable packaging and increasing the biodegradability requirements for packaging.

At present, the Directive doesn't allow for a clear distinction between biodegradable products that should biodegrade in natural conditions in the environment, and compostable products that only biodegrade in industrial composting facilities.

Every year, the average EU citizen consumes approximately 500 plastic carrier bags, and the Commission claims that most of them are used only once.

The total volume of plastic carrier bags produced in Europe in 2008 was 3.4m tonnes.

Announcing the consultation, European Commissioner for Environment 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. 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. We need the views of as many people as possible to complement our scientific analyses1 and help drive policy on this issue, which is suffocating our environment."

Overlooked

The Commission is concerned that the low weight and small size of plastic bags means they are often overlooked in waste management and end up in the marine environment, where their eventual decay can take hundreds of years.

Some EU Member States, such as Ireland, 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.

Within the UK, a 5p charge for bags has already been agreed in Wales. However no specific measures exist at the EU level.

Action Needed

In March 2011 EU environment ministers discussed the environmental impact of plastic carrier bags and the concerns they raised indicated that "effective EU action" was needed.

At the time, the Carrier Bag Consortium - a group of major UK carrier bag suppliers - warned that legislation was a very blunt instrument with "unintended consequences " and said that the UK Voluntary Code had been highly successful by reducing bags by 50 percent across the UK.

For more information visit http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/compost/index.htm

Darrel Moore