For immediate release: Biarritz (France), July 22nd 2020

As part of its “Break the plastic wave” campaign, and in collaboration with the Rethink Plastic alliance, Surfrider Foundation Europe releases today and over the next two weeks, new infographics developed together with the media Qu’est ce qu’on fait on false solutions to plastic pollution. These infographics illustrate the problems posed by three initiatives with alarming data and highlight instead true ideas for action.  

“The only solution to plastic pollution is to reduce plastic production and consumption at source. For it to happen, we need to fight plastic fakes out that are diverting us all away from cutting plastic”

Says Diane Beaumenay, one of the two coordinators of the ‘Break the Plastic Wave’ campaign at Surfrider Foundation Europe.

9.2 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced since the 1950s and more than half have been produced since 2000. With an average of 8 million tons of plastic reaching the ocean every year (1), there is no longer any doubt today about the plastic crisis we’re facing and the urgency to act.  

The solutions to stop the flood of plastics are known and within reach but are often overshadowed by initiatives presented as silver bullets while their impacts are limited and sometimes even counterproductive. They create confusion at the expense of the environment and of citizens’ will to buy and consume more responsibly. False solutions, yet, contribute to plastic pollution as they perpetuate the belief we can continue producing again and again more plastics. They contribute to rampant greenwashing around the plastic pollution issue so for companies not to stop their plastic production, and mask the reality that this plastic should not be there in the first place. 

The infographics shed light on 3 initiatives – recycling, bioplastics and cleaning-up the ocean – that are, to varying degrees, ineffective in the face of the scale of plastic pollution. For some, claims they echo are not accurate, in other cases the ‘solutions’ they bring are inexistent, increase the issue, and are not proportionate to the problems: 

• Recycling alone will never be able to take care of all the plastics we produce and throw away. Of the 29 million tonnes of plastic waste collected annually in the European Union, we have only been able to recycle one third (2).  

 

• Bio-based and biodegradable plastics only have bio as a prefix and cause severe damage to the environment. Plastics which are bio-based are not fully oil-free while the biomass used to produce them are mostly dependent on intensive farming, which is particularly harmful to the environment. On the other side, biodegradable plastics can only degrade within a reasonable timeframe under very specific conditions (e.g. industrial composting). In nature or the ocean, they have major impacts on animals and habitat.  

 

• Cleaning: it is unrealistic to think that we will be able to clean the ocean from all the plastics dumped into it over the last 60 years.  In addition to not solving the problem at the source, there is no technology today that can collect the plastic from the ocean without causing damage to the ocean fauna and flora. Only 1% of this plastic waste would float, the rest would be beneath the surface. In such circumstances, it’s hard to think we can do a clean sweep.  

We can all contribute to solving the plastic crisis: industries by rethinking their products and systems, decision-makers by adopting measures supporting real solutions and citizens by changing their consumption patterns and calling on companies and decision-makers to drive change.

ENDS

Links to the infographics prepared with Qu’est ce qu’on fait:

Infographics on plastic fake out #1 

Infographics on plastic fake out #2

Infographics on plastic fake out #3

Notes

1. Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean, Jambeck et al., Science, 2015: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768/tab-pdf 
2. Plastics The Facts 2018, Plastics Europe: https://www.plasticseurope.org/application/files/6315/4510/9658/Plastics_the_facts_2018_AF_web.pdf 

Press Contacts

Fella Boulazreg, Media contact point, Surfrider Foundation Europe, [email protected] +33 (0)7 67 18 29 71 / + 33 (0) 5 59 23 23 47

Brussels 16th July 2020, 9AM

The single-use plastics (SUP) Directive, adopted in 2019, requires EU Member States to adopt a number of measures to reduce the use of, and pollution from, single-use plastics most commonly found in the environment. Measures include bans on certain SUPs, a reduction in consumption, extended producer responsibility schemes, labeling requirements, and a 90% separate collection target for plastic bottles. 

EU countries have until July 2021 to transpose the EU Directive into their national laws and adopt the measures needed for successful implementation of the Directive. Members of the Break Free From Plastic movement have taken stock of the progress made across Europe, midway through the transposition period. This assessment of the current situation in 19 countries shows that only a few countries have already adopted measures to transpose the Directive or are about to do so. In most countries, the transposition process has been delayed or has only just started. 

France currently appears to be the furthest advanced on the transposition of the SUP Directive thanks to the adoption of a law in February 2020 that actually goes further than the EU Directive; it now must be implemented in order for it to have concrete positive effects. Other countries, such as Austria, Denmark, and Portugal have also taken steps and made progress in the transposition of the Directive, yet key legal measures still have to be finalised and the ambition needs to be confirmed. Unfortunately, many countries are still lagging behind, including Slovenia where processes have been significantly delayed, as well as Bulgaria and Croatia where discussions have not even begun. 

“Despite numerous public announcements on the need to fight plastic pollution, many European countries have not yet walked the talk. It is high time governments stop dithering and promptly adopt far-reaching measures that incentivise products, packaging and business models based on waste prevention and reuse, allowing a move away from single-use plastics once and for all. The Break Free From Plastic movement will continue to monitor and engage on the transposition and implementation of the SUP Directive and call out countries lagging behind”.

Delphine Lévi Alvarès, coordinator of the Break Free From Plastic Europe and the Rethink Plastic alliance commented.

While the COVID-19 pandemic may have caused slowdown in the transposition of the SUP Directive, as in other files, it cannot be a reason for further delay. Solving the plastic crisis cannot wait any longer, and the ambitious implementation of the SUP Directive across Europe can largely contribute to ending pollution from single-use plastics for good. 

See the detailed Member State assessment and grading here

ENDS 

See Seas At Risk’s assessment for more details on some countries (France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain). 

Directive on the impacts of certain plastic products on the environment available here.

French law on Circular Economy available here.  

Press contacts 

Estelle Eonnet, Communications Officer, Break Free From Plastic Europe, +33 6 13 13 65 27, [email protected]

Delphine Lévi Alvarès, Coordinator, Break Free From Plastic Europe and Rethink Plastic alliance, +32 (4) 78 71 26 33, [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Brussels, 6th July 2020

In April of last year, the European Union joined Norway in co-sponsoring amendments to the world’s only waste treaty to establish new trade controls on the dirtiest and most unrecyclable plastic wastes. These amendments were passed in response to countless human rights abuses, and environmental pollution caused by unregulated plastic waste dumping. Such problematic plastic wastes now will require prior consent by importing nations, and are listed under Annex II of the Basel Convention as “wastes requiring special consideration.”

However, last week, the European Commission made it official in their publication of the proposed Delegated Regulation (1) that the EU does not intend to fully apply these new trade controls themselves between their own member states. This would leave the door wide open for EU waste traders to shunt difficult-to-recycle plastics to substandard operations in poorer EU communities, as well as plastic waste to “waste-to-energy” incinerators in other EU countries. Incinerating plastic waste undermines recycling, and has dire consequences for the climate, for the environment, and for a toxic-free and just circular economy.

Global and European environmental groups* have lined up to oppose this move, noting that the Basel Convention allows no reservations or exceptions to its obligations and definitions (2). They argue that this is a departure from the EU Waste Shipment Regulation’s current faithful inclusion of Basel Annex II wastes, and requirement of prior notification and consent for their trade within the EU. 

“The only rationale for promoting a double standard of this kind is if your track record on responsible trade in waste and its subsequent recycling is already superlative and you can show that you have an equivalent level of control to that required by the global rules. But the evidence shows that it is not the case at all.”

said David Azoulay, senior attorney with the Center for International Environmental Law.

Citing recent reports of plastic waste dumping and burning in Poland, Italy and Romania, the environmental groups also noted that the exception is unjustified given the persistent trend of wastes moving across the continent to victimize weaker communities and member states. 

The draft regulation would allow some plastic wastes to instead be freely traded in the EU market without the newly agreed controls. These plastics have recently been regulated under the Basel Convention’s Annex II due to the difficulty in recycling them, and the risks they pose to human health and the environment particularly when they are burnt. They include a wide set of mixed plastic wastes, PVC and PTFE (Teflon) wastes, as well as all manner of plastic waste not destined for mechanical recycling. 

“Our members include recyclers and communities who live by so-called “waste-to-energy” incinerators, and they know just how much burning plastic waste hurts the recycling economy, creates toxic pollution and harms the climate. We cannot accept a free pass for that to keep happening in the EU”

said Sirine Rached for Zero Waste Europe and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives.

Hard-to-recycle and contaminated plastics are likely to end up dumped in the open environment or burnt, causing toxic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The green groups claim that the proposal flies in the face of the vows recently made in the European Green Deal including the Circular Economy Action Plan, where the EU committed to carbon neutrality and to show leadership in action on plastic waste. 

“How does bending current EU rules and creating double standards for the EU demonstrate any kind of global leadership? How is the rest of the world going to take the EU seriously when they preach boldly on the global stage and then run back home to coddle their waste and plastics industries?”

asked Jim Puckett of the Basel Action Network (BAN), a global toxic trade watchdog organization.

ENDS

For more information, contact:

Jim Puckett, Basel Action Network, [email protected], +1 (206) 354-0391

David Azoulay, CIEL, [email protected], +41 787 578 756

Tim Grabiel, EIA, [email protected], +33 6 32 76 77 04

Sirine Rached, Zero Waste Europe & GAIA, [email protected], +33 6 76 90 02 80

Sara Brosché, International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), [email protected], +46 31 799 5900

References:

(1) Ref. Ares(2020)3286388 – 24/06/2020

(2)  For the very first time, the European Union has notified the Secretariat of the Basel Convention that it claims the EU Waste Shipment Regulation as an Article 11 agreement. Such agreements are allowed to run legally in parallel with the Convention so long as they are no less environmentally sound. However, refusing to control dirty and mixed plastics that the Basel Convention now controls is clearly less environmentally sound – raising questions about the legality of the EU proposal. 

Notes:

The EU proposed Delegated Act is designed to provide a legislative response to the recent amendments passed in May of last year at the Basel Convention’s 14th Conference of Parties. Those amendments which the EU worked for but is now refusing to implement within its own borders are meant to come into force on January 1, 2021.

*The organisations which strongly believe that the EU member states should apply the new Basel Convention plastic waste amendments like every other party to the Basel Convention include:

• Basel Action Network (BAN)
• Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
• Greenpeace
• International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN)
• European Environmental Bureau (EEB)
• Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF)
• Health Environment and Justice Support (HEJSupport)
• Zero Waste Europe (ZWE)
• Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)
• Rethink Plastic 
• Break Free From Plastic (BFFP)
• Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)

For immediate release: Brussels, 3rd July 2020

A new report published today by Surfrider Foundation Europe on behalf of the Rethink Plastic alliance called Make it Right. Time for Europe to act against plastic bag pollution, reveals that while all EU countries have now transposed the EU Directive on plastic bags into their national laws, only some have taken ambitious action to cut plastic bag pollution at source.

The assessment, based on key contributions from the members of the Break Free From Plastic movement in Europe, shows that most countries continue to authorise the use of single-use plastic bags by granting many exemptions, some clearly infringing the Directive: single use biodegradable plastic bags (e.g. Italy, Austria, Malta), single-use biobased plastic bags (e.g. Brussels region in Belgium), bags sold in open markets (e.g. Greece, very lightweight plastic bags (in the majority of Member States) and even bags with no handle (e.g. Romania).

Plastic bags are one of too many major sources of pollution in our ocean. More than 100 billion bags were used in Europe alone in 2010. Together with other single-use plastic items, they are responsible for dramatic impacts on marine life and habitats, global economies and societies along the full plastic life cycle, and they carry major risks to our health. Symbols of our disposable society, plastic bags triggered action on a large number of other single-use items all around the world. 

The plastic pollution crisis is immense, and the legislation that already exists can only contribute to reducing pollution if implemented and enforced on the ground. 

“Too many EU countries have chosen low-ambition measures or allowed for many single-use plastic bags to continue to be used. With the objective of reducing consumption of plastic bags by half at the end of 2019, citizens are waiting for new measures to be adopted by July 2021 to further limit disposable plastics. It’s time to make things right and ensure positive action to tackle plastic pollution”.

Said Gaëlle Haut, European Affairs Officer at Surfrider Foundation Europe, on behalf of the Rethink Plastic alliance

This 11th International Plastic Bag Free Day is being celebrated a year and a half ahead of the Commission’s deadline to present results on the effectiveness of measures at Union level to address plastic bag pollution. At this crossroads, assessment results appear better than in 2018 but some already-expressed concerns still remain.

The Plastic Bag Directive has sadly left the door open for some private players to ask national governments for derogations for their products – in particular biodegradable bags. This has allowed for the continued use of some single-use plastic bags, irrespective of the many impacts they have on the environment and ocean. These derogations are putting attempts to tackle plastic pollution at risk and could possibly worsen necessary and urgent efforts to reduce marine litter and curb plastic use. 

The Rethink Plastic alliance now calls on Member States to adopt ambitious measures to reduce the consumption of all single-use plastic bags in their territory and ensure proper enforcement of the measures adopted. 

Member States are asked to remove exemptions on biodegradable and bio-based plastic bags, in line with the Single Use Plastic Directive and adopt measures applying to all bags.

***

ENDS

NOTES:

• Make it right. Time for Europe to act against plastic bag pollution, 2020, Surfrider Foundation Europe, Rethink Plastic alliance.
• Directive (EU) 2015/720 of the European Parliament and of the council of 29th April 2015, amending Directive 94/62/EC as regards reducing the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags.
• Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment.
• Why “bioplastics” won’t solve plastic pollution, Rethink Plastic alliance, 2018.

Press Contacts:

Agnese Marcon, Communications Coordinator, Rethink Plastic alliance [email protected] +32 (0) 456 078 038

Gaëlle Haut, EU affairs officer, Surfrider Foundation Europe [email protected] +32 (4) 87 16 94 53

For immediate release: Brussels, 19 June 2020

The recovery plan, composed of a 750 billion “Next Generation EU” support package and a revised €1.1 trillion 7 year budget (2021-2027) is drawing much attention, with everyone trying to get a piece of the pie. It carries the risk of becoming a horse-trade.

 The plan should support fundamental systemic change rather than continue financing the same actors who are driving the current fragile and destructive system. 

Clear green conditionality has to be attached to any recovery funding, using the EU Taxonomy criteria as a basis. In line with the European Green Deal’s oath: ‘do no harm’, any activity that causes significant harm to the achievement of health and environmental objectives (the transition to the circular economy, climate change mitigation and pollution minimisation) should be deemed unsustainable and as such not eligible for recovery funding. 

Capital-intensive industries that cannot already function sustainably on their own or can only self-sustain by damaging our health and our environment, such as the petrochemicals and (single-use) plastic industry – should not be eligible for recovery funding. Similarly, end-of-pipe waste management solutions such as incineration and plastic-to-fuels should be excluded.

“EU leaders have a responsibility towards citizens to make sure that stimulus packages will support the shift to a toxic-free circular economy, the redesign of products, business models and systems, and support local and green jobs” says Delphine Lévi Alvarès, Coordinator of Break Free From Plastic Europe and the Rethink Plastic alliance. 

Also, while Rethink Plastic welcomes the fact that taxing plastic is back on the table, it still regrets that the contribution applies to non-recycled plastic packaging. 

“If taxation on plastic is to have a real impact on plastic proliferation and pollution, it should rather be set on virgin plastics resins to support reduction at source and bridge the price gap between recycled plastic and virgin plastic, the price of which has plummeted due to low oil prices” added Delphine Lévi Alvarès. 

Several global (Fast Moving Consumer Good) companies, which have committed to integrate recycled content in their products, have recently expressed support for taxation of virgin plastic resins. Putting people and the environment at the center of the recovery package is the only way to address the lack of resilience that the pandemic has brought to light and move forward.

ENDS

Press Contacts:
Agnese Marcon, Communications Coordinator, Rethink Plastic alliance
[email protected] +32 (0) 456 078 038

Delphine Lévi Alvarès, Coordinator, Break Free From Plastic Europe and Rethink Plastic alliance
[email protected] +32 (4) 78 71 26 33

Berlin/Brussels, 15 May 2020

European Environmental NGOs are expressing their concern about ongoing discussions on the implementation of the separate collection of single-use plastic bottles as regulated by the EU Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD).

The Directive ((EU) 2019/904) requires Member States to ensure that 90 percent of plastic bottles be collected as a separate waste stream by 2029 at the latest. In Austria and the Czech Republic, however, there are now discussions suggesting that this separate collection target could be met by including bottles from post-sorted residual waste.

Deutsche Umwelthilfe (Environmental Action Germany, DUH) and the Rethink Plastic alliance (RPa), both members of the global Break Free from Plastic (BFFP) movement, warn that misguided interpretation of the SUPD could dramatically undermine its main objectives, that is to reduce pollution from single-use plastic and support the transition towards a circular economy. The introduction of deposit return systems (DRS) can largely contribute to achieving these objectives.

“Plastic bottles are among the top items polluting European water bodies and beaches. This is why the introduction of deposit return systems all over Europe is particularly important. In Germany, the deposit on single-use beverage containers has had a drastic anti-littering effect. That is reflected by the very high collection rate of 98.5 percent. If plastic bottles were still collected via curbside collection, the collection rate would be considerably lower. In addition, pulling plastic bottles out of mixed packaging or residual waste would jeopardise all efforts to enable the desired bottle-to-bottle recycling. The required material quality cannot be achieved with those modes of collection, due to impurities and adhesions. It is alarming that certain stakeholder groups, for example in Austria, are trying to sabotage this step towards more high-quality recycling in Europe” says DUH Deputy Executive Director Barbara Metz.

Member States will only achieve the recycled content targets set in the Directive, if plastic bottles are collected as a clean, separate waste stream. By 2025, single-use PET bottles have to contain a minimum recycled content of 25 percent, and by 2030, all single-use plastic bottles must contain a minimum recycled content of 30 percent.

With the Plastic Strategy and the Single Use Plastics Directive, the EU has made an unprecedented commitment to reduce waste and pollution and protect our environment. DUH and the Rethink Plastic alliance therefore call on national governments to transpose and implement the legislation as it is intended, to reach maximum positive environmental impact.

“The European Commission and EU governments must resist attempts made by some interest groups to water down the Single Use Plastics Directive. Citizens across Europe have praised the new measures on reducing single-use plastics and have shown support for Deposit return systems, for recycling but also for reuse. DRS have successfully existed for many years in some EU countries like Germany and now others, such as Portugal, Latvia and Romania, are setting the course for their implementation, since DRS is the most effective way to ensure high collection of beverage containers and reduce pollution” says Delphine Lévi Alvarès, Coordinator of the Rethink Plastic alliance and BFFP Europe.

In addition to their contribution to pollution reduction and meeting the targets laid down in the Single Use Plastics Directive, deposit return systems for single-use beverage containers have yet another crucial advantage: they can serve as an intermediate step towards more refillable beverage containers. Firstly, deposit systems for single-use and refillable beverage containers largely rely on the same infrastructure. Secondly, consumers are more likely to choose refillables over single-use beverage containers if they have to return both types of packaging to the same return points.

Compared to single-use beverage packaging, refillables cause less greenhouse gas emissions, protect resources and support the local economy.

ENDS

Further information:
Position Paper on the interpretation of separate collection targets, Reloop
Deposit Return Schemes Manifesto Zero Waste Europe with 90 signatories

Contacts
Barbara Metz, Deputy Executive Director, DUH
[email protected] +49 (0) 170 7686923

Henriette Schneider, Project Manager, DUH
[email protected] +49 (0) 30 2400867-464

Press Contacts:
Agnese Marcon, Communications Coordinator, Rethink Plastic alliance
[email protected] +32 (0) 456 078 038

Marlen Bachmann, Thomas Grafe, Press Officers, DUH
[email protected] +49 (0) 30 2400867-20

Rethink Plastic is an alliance of leading European NGOs, representing thousands of active groups, supporters and citizens in every EU Member State. It is part of the Break Free From Plastic movement.

Deutsche Umwelthilfe (Environmental Action Germany, DUH)  is a recognised environmental and consumer protection organisation that campaigns at national and EU level. The organisation is engaged in energy and climate protection, circular economy, traffic and clean air, nature conservation, urban environmental protection and consumer protection. DUH is renowned for its role in uncovering the Diesel Scandal and its successful campaign for a deposit system for one-way beverage containers and a quantitative target for refillable beverage containers in Germany.

Break Free From Plastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in September 2016, nearly 1,900 organizations from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and to push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. These organisations share the common values of environmental protection and social justice, which guide their work at the community level and represent a global, unified vision.

For immediate release – Brussels, 11 March 2020

New plans revealed today by the European Commission on plastic pollution, as part of its wider Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP), which lists around 50 actions to tackle our resources and waste crises, are a step in the right direction but will only be effective if they are implemented with strong ambition. 

One of the most positive actions is the promise to develop new measures on making products more sustainable. The alliance welcomes this long-overdue legal framework, in particular the commitment to scale up reusable tableware, packaging and cutlery in food services. All the new laws on sustainable products should stimulate the redesign of products and distribution models and drive the transition towards toxic-free reusable products and service-based systems.

“Prevention, reduction and reuse, despite being at the top of the EU waste hierarchy, have been overlooked for too long. We now welcome that they are rightly given priority for food services, but they must be at the core of all future concrete measures to foster the redesign of plastics and packaging, as well as their production and distribution systems. This is not only a condition for achieving a true, toxic-free circular economy, it is also necessary to deliver on the EU’s climate agenda” commented Justine Maillot, Policy Coordinator of the Rethink Plastic alliance. 

The alliance, however, remains cautious on the commitment by the European Commission to set a policy framework for biobased and biodegradable plastics. These plastics, which are too often pushed as a solution, are mostly applied as single-use materials with similar environmental impacts to conventional plastics, especially in the ocean.[1][2] Direct substitution of conventional plastics with bio-based and biodegradable plastics is purposefully confusing consumers and amounts to greenwashing.

While microplastics are highlighted as a focus area, it’s regretful that the action plan remains vague on the related concrete measures, going no further than the Plastics Strategy of early 2018. The alliance calls on the Commission to develop EU legislative measures to address pollution from all primary microplastics including pre-production plastic pellets, a major source of microplastics, along the plastic supply chain.[3]

The plan also highlights the role of economic instruments and investments, yet remains vague on detail. The alliance emphasises that these are essential to develop and scale-up solutions and must ensure support for new business models and systems based on prevention and reuse. The alliance is concerned that if investments are directed towards infrastructure for “new” plastic production as well as chemical recycling, this will simply extend business as usual into the future.

ENDS

Notes 

[1] Rethink Plastic Alliance Bioplastics Infographic 

[2] EC Research on Biodegradable, Oxodegradable and Compostable bags oberved in sea, air and soil

[3] A recent study shows that if best practices were put in place by producers, converters and transport companies across the supply chain, pellet loss could virtually be eliminated (95% reduction). Rethink Plastic and BreakFreeFromPlastic briefing on pellets available here. 

Press contacts

Justine Maillot, Policy Coordinator, Rethink Plastic alliance

[email protected] 

+32 (0) 27 362 091 

Agnese Marcon, Communications Coordinator, Rethink Plastic alliance [email protected]  

+32 (0) 456 078 038 

Rethink Plastic is an alliance of leading European NGOs, representing thousands of active groups, supporters and citizens in every EU Member State. It is part of the Break Free From Plastic movement.

Brussels 14th November 2019

 

There are major concerns that proposed limitations to the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) restriction on intentionally added microplastics act as loopholes to satisfy industry, by delaying implementation and creating derogations for biodegradable plastics. Comments from the industry lobby in the ECHA public consultation on microplastics are aimed at undermining the core purpose of the restriction rather than contributing to meaningfully addressing the issue of microplastic pollution.

 

The latest European Chemicals Agency proposal to restrict all intentionally added microplastics has generally received strong support from NGOs across many sectors. In letters to national governments, 32 NGOs together with the #breakfreefromplastic movement of more than 1,800 organisations, and the Rethink Plastic alliance, reiterated this support, while raising major concerns on derogations and unnecessary delays in a letter addressed to national environment ministers and relevant agencies on Tuesday. They call on the Commission and Member States to address these concerns and move the restriction process forward without delays or derogations.

 

Once released in the environment, microplastics are practically impossible to remove, and are expected to be present in the environment for hundreds, possibly thousands, of years, with severe and well documented effects on the environment. The scientific data gathered by ECHA in the report backing the need for a restriction is unequivocal: microplastics constitute a serious risk to the environment, and are a source of pollution that is currently, and undeniably, out of control.

 

In particular proposed derogations for allegedly biodegradable microplastics and the extended transitional periods are highlighted as undermining the prevention of microplastic pollution, and lacking in scientific basis.

 

Elise Vitali, Chemicals Project Officer at the European Environmental Bureau said

“The restriction proposal is a big step forward. But if passed as it stands, this plan would seriously jeopardise the EU’s reputation as a leader in the fight against plastic pollution. It is a matter of urgency that these unjustifiable loopholes are closed, and that the restrictions are applied to all intentional microplastics in a concise timeframe.”

 

Delphine Lévi Alvarès, Coordinator of the #breakfreefromplastic movement in Europe and of the Rethink Plastic alliance said

“It is high time the industry stops bringing biodegradability claims to obtain exemptions and create loopholes in much needed restrictions, be it on single-use plastics or in this case on microplastics added to products. If it is even slightly serious about contributing to solving the plastic crisis, the industry should rather focus its efforts on redesigning and removing all intentionally added microplastics from Industry products”.

***

 

NOTES
– Read the full letter sent to EU ENVI Committee members and REACH competent authorities
– Read NGOs Position For An Impactful Restriction Of Microplastics
– ECHA Annex XV Restriction Report Proposal for a Restriction on Intentionally Added Microplastics

 

Press Contacts:

Matt Franklin
European Communications Officer, Break Free From Plastic
[email protected] – +44 7923 37 38 31

Alice Bernard
Chemicals Lawyer, Client Earth
[email protected] – 0032 (0)2 808 8015

6 November 2019, Brussels

Today, the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Break Free From Plastic movement published the international English edition of the Plastic Atlas, holding launch events in Brussels, Washington D.C. and Manila. 

The Plastic Atlas contains more than 49 detailed infographics covering a broad range of topics regarding the plastic pollution crisis looking along the entire value chain of plastic. The atlas highlights the scale of the crisis, and the global impacts of plastic production, consumption and disposal on other key global challenges such as human health and climate change.

It also outlines the role of plastic for key industrial sectors such as agriculture and tourism and describes the corporate interests and drivers behind the plastic crisis.

Finally, the Plastic Atlas presents an overview of key anti-plastic regulations, zero waste solutions and a snapshot of the growing global movement working towards a future free from plastic pollution.

Executive Vice-President-designate for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans stated: “The European Union has made an important first step by banning some of the most polluting single use plastic products in Europe. We now need to continue our efforts to design products for reuse, improve waste management and recycling, and move towards a zero-pollution economic model. Valuable resources must be retained and recycled material used for making new products, not shipped abroad or sent up in smoke through an incinerator.

Bas Eickhout, Vice-Chair of the EP-Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (The Greens/EFA) and co-host of the Plastic-Atlas launch pointed out: “This plastic atlas shows the painful reality behind our plastic addiction, and there is no excuse to wait with the implementation of policies to cure it. Let me name a few: Bans on needless use of plastic. Strict eco-design rules to ensure that we use as little plastic as possible in the products that we make. New legislation to prevent the leakage of plastic pellets in our environment. Mandatory use of recycled instead of virgin plastic. And of course: a plastic tax. It’s time to walk the walk.”

Break Free From Plastic European Coordinator, Delphine Lévi Alvarès added: “Europe plays a significant role in the plastic pollution crisis at almost every juncture. From the export of low-grade plastic waste to the global south, where Europe avoids taking responsibility for dealing with the waste that we create, to the European corporations such as Coca-Cola, Nestle and Unilever which are again and again cited as the top global producers of branded plastic pollution. Europe’s role in this crisis is ubiquitous. But Europe also has great potential to tackle plastic pollution at source, notably by enacting strong policies. This is the only way to achieve a circular economy and go above and beyond the Paris Agreement commitments.”

Heinrich Böll Foundation President Barbara Unmüßig has called for global action to address the crisis at source: “A ban on single-use plastics makes sense but will not be sufficient to end one of the biggest environmental crises of the planet. Plastics began as a waste product of the petrochemical industry. Today, ExxonMobil, BASF, Eni, INEOS, and Dow are the biggest plastic producers worldwide with sales totaling 420 billion Euros per year. Instead of cutting down on this part of the business they have clear targets to increase plastic production over the coming years. The unlimited availability of cheap oil and gas as raw materials for plastic production prevents effective recycling strategies and blocks a real circular economy. Regional and global politics must hold the plastic industry accountable and define a clear and strict framework for the reduction of overall plastic production and consumption. However, circular-economy strategies are needed to make a lasting impact.”

Download the full Plastic Atlas

#breakfreefromplastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in September 2016, nearly 1,800 organisations from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and to push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. These organisations share the common values of environmental protection and social justice, which guide their work at the community level and represent a global, unified vision.

The Heinrich Böll Foundation, as part of the Green political movement, is a catalyst for Green visions and projects, a think tank for policy reform, and an international network. We globally support and cooperate with partners promoting Democracy, human rights, socio-ecological transformation and gender justice.

***

ENDS

Press Contacts
Agnese Marcon, Communications Coordinator, Rethink Plastic alliance
[email protected], +32 (0) 456 078 038