The Council of the European Union has reached an agreement on a draft directive to reduce the consumption of lightweight plastic bags. The council’s new rules seek to limit the environmental impact of plastic carrier bags on the environment by encouraging waste prevention and the more efficient use of resources.
The new measures target plastic bags with a wall thickness below 50 microns, which represent the majority of plastic carrier bags consumed in the EU. The law will require governments to choose either to introduce a charge on single-use lightweight plastic bags by the end of 2018 or to take measures to reduce their use. If individual countries choose the second option, the annual use of these bags will need to be reduced to an average of 90 per person by the end of 2019 and to 40 bags per person by the end of 2025 (compared with an average of 176 bags per person in 2010).
Very lightweight plastic carrier bags with a wall thickness below 15 microns can be excluded from the measures.
In addition, the European Commission and member states will, at least during the first year after the date of transposition of this directive, actively encourage public information and awareness campaigns concerning the adverse environmental impact of excessive use of lightweight plastic bags.
Member states will have 18 months to incorporate the new rules into national legislation following their entry into force. Two years after the entry into force of the directive, the European Commission will present two reports to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. The first report will examine the impact of the use of oxo-degradable plastic bags on the environment. The second report will assess the different possibilities to reduce the use of very lightweight plastic bags. Both reports may be accompanied, if appropriate, by legislative proposals.
