To prevent pellet loss the treaty text must include:
Plastic pellets are lost at all stages of the plastics value chain. The EU needs to address this issue with an ambitious Plastic Pellets regulation.
Plastics and polymers need to be included as an intermediate product in the first working plan under the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) – foreseen for early 2025. By prioritising plastics and polymers in the first ESPR working plan, the EU will take a major step in addressing the plastic pollution crisis, and work towards minimising the environmental footprint of plastic and polymer production.
What is PVC and what is it used for? Why is PVC dangerous? If PVC has alternatives, why is it not already being replaced? What regulatory measures do NGOs ask for? Answers to frequently asked questions about PVC (polyvinyl chloride).
The EU elections will largely determine what guides EU politics and laws for the next five years. Even though plastic is driving some of the dominating issues of this election, there is a great danger that it will be pushed off the agenda – that’s rubbish! We need decisionmakers who will strive to reduce plastic production, support reuse, eliminate toxic chemicals, and deliver real solutions to the plastic pollution crisis to protect us and future generations.
Plastic proliferation and pollution fuel the triple planetary crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. They impact us all, but not equally; thus they exacerbate injustice. A just transition, commonly described as ensuring that the much needed green transition is happening in a fair and inclusive way and leaves no one behind, can both put an end to plastic pollution, guarantee human rights and bring social benefits.
Treating plastic waste is an energy-intensive process, creating 193 Mt CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year. That’s more than the annual emissions of two Belgiums! These emissions are projected to increase despite improvements in waste management. But plastics don’t only create emissions at the end of their life. Plastic is created from oil and gas and 90% of GHG emissions actually occur at the production stage.
Did you know that there is even a new disease impacting seabirds ingesting plastic that has been evidenced and named “Plasticosis”? That is how severe plastic impacts on biodiversity are! It is estimated that close to 2800 different marine species, such as turtles, seabirds, fish, marine mammals and coral reefs, are known to interact with plastic debris, often becoming entangled, trapped or suffocated by it.
Did you know that the production of plastics requires the extraction of finite fossil fuels? In 99% of the cases, plastic is made from resources such as coal, oil and gas. The remaining 1% are made from crops or forestry resources.