Europe Moves to Ban Single-Use Plastic

[LAOIL + 33]

The European Commission wants to ban 10 items that make up 70% of all litter in EU waters and on beaches. The draft rules need the approval of all EU member states and the European Parliament. This legislation also wants to make plastic producers bear the cost of waste management and cleanup efforts, and it proposes that EU states must collect 90% of single-use plastic bottles by 2025 through new recycling programs.

Plastics Europe, which represents manufacturers think plastic product ban is not a solution because alternative products may not be more sustainable. 

[Rodent + 1,424]

Plastic product bans are not a solution. This is another flawed crusade that points to a problem without proffering a solution. Yeah, we use a lot of plastic bags. But what is the alternative? Reusable grocery bags? The ones that are shipped from China using fossil fuels to bring them here, and are manufactured with chemicals not even allowed to be used here in the US? The ones that get contaminated with your raw chicken or pork, then left in the trunk, baking in the sun as a petri dish for harmful bacteria, mold, and yeast? The ones that need to be washed regularly, using water? The ones that when discarded take up more than 10 times as much space? Or are we talking about paper bags, also almost 9 times as much of a space filler. Or paper bags that have a much larger carbon footprint to produce and are costly to recycle?

Has someone thought this through to the end? Studies have shown a drastic increase in other types of bags in lieu of disposable plastic bags (I realize we're talking about other things here too), because as it stands now, people reuse plastic bags to line trash cans, and pick up pet waste, etc. 

That's just one plastic single-use product.