It’s no secret that plastic pollution has a huge impact on the environment, as countless tons of plastic float around in the oceans, posing a threat to the local wildlife. According to numbers from Our World In Data, the entire planet produced more than 381 million tons of plastics in 2015. Of all these tons, less than 20 percent gets recycled.
Even though the recycling numbers are slowly improving, plastic waste is still a major issue.
France is now taking a bold step towards dealing with this issue and has passed a law that completely bans plastic cups, plates, and cutlery.
The policy was already suggested back in 2016 as the country tries to shift towards a more sustainable future and economy. Of course, banning all disposable items altogether would be practically impossible, but those will now have to be made out of at least 50% biodegradable materials instead of regular plastic. The goal is to bring that percentage to 60% by 2025, with hopes of one day moving towards fully biodegradable products.
It’s not extremely surprising that France is now taking this extra step, as it had already banned plastic bags for shopping purposes in the year before. The country also wants to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and focus on building more renewable energy sources.
Aside from the plastics themselves, the amount of oil that is necessary to produce these plastic products also has disastrous effects on the planet. Every year, over 100,000 marine animals pass away because of the total pollution caused by plastics, as well as over a million birds every single year. It’s clear that plastic production is something that definitely needs to be dealt with, for this reason alone.
Only 1% of all plastic cups are recycled in France, and almost 5 million of them are thrown away each year.
The numbers don’t lie: developed countries are responsible for a very large amount of plastic production, although that plastic waste is usually properly managed. It’s usually this mismanaged waste (often originating from poorer countries) that is responsible for the majority of plastic waste in the ocean, but richer countries such as France can definitely help bring that global number down nonetheless.
The plastic ban is a part of France’s Energy Transition for Green Growth Act, and it will take effect on January 1st, 2020.
Straws, cups, cotton buds, plastic cups, plastic plates – anything with plastic in it and is considered a disposable won’t be found in supermarkets anymore. A couple of French supermarkets, Carrefour and Leclerc, have already promised to stop selling plastic straws long before the ban takes effect.
And the entire European Union is now following in France’s footsteps.
The European Union has voted to ban all purchases of single-use plastics, including cups, plates, cutlery, straws, and even balloon sticks. The ban will occur a little bit later than France, however, as it’s planned for 2021. Yet, the EU’s long-term goals are quite ambitious as well. They are committed to banning all non-reusable or recyclable plastics, including plastic packaging (around bottles, for example) by 2030. The plans are there, but it still has to go through approval by the (newly elected) European Parliament.
France also wants to make products with recycled plastic cheaper.
The government is now discussing the details, but the plan is for the police to take effect in 2019 as well. Brune Poirson from the French Ecology Ministry confirmed this in the weekly ‘Journal du dimanche’.
“When the consumer is faced with two plastic bottle products, the one made of recycled plastic will be less expensive, whereas the bottle not made of recycled plastic will be more expensive,” Poirson said.
The idea is that the recyclable products would be up to 10 percent cheaper, by subtracting it from the VAT.
It’s clear that France is saying ‘au revoir’ to non-recyclable plastics, and that’s something that can only be applauded.
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