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France has passed a new law to ensure all plastic cups, cutlery and plates can be composted and are made of biologically-sourced materials.
France is the latest country to fight the ban on waste by brining into effect a new law which will prohibit the use of single-use plastics. The law, which comes into effect in 2020, is part of the Energy Transition for Green Growth – an ambitious plan that aims to allow France to make a more effective contribution to tackling climate change.
Unsurprisingly however, the new law has been met with criticism from Pack2Go Europe, a Brussels-based organisation representing European packaging manufacturers, who says it will keep fighting the new law and hopes it doesn’t spread to the rest of the continent.
Pack2Go Europe’s secretary general Eamonn Bates believes there is no proof the biologically-sourced materials are more environmentally beneficial and that the ban might make the situation worse as people may misunderstand the extent of degradability.
“[The ban will] be understood by consumers to mean that it is OK to leave this packaging behind in the countryside after use because it’s easily bio-degradable in nature. That’s nonsense! It may even make the litter problem worse,” he said.
Last year, a study estimated that around eight million metric tons of our plastic waste enters the oceans from land each year, so it’s good news that more and more countries are waking up to the reality of the amount of waste humans generate, and are banning single-use plastic in an attempt to tackle environmental concerns. Delhi recently banned the use of disposable plastic, whilst plastic cottons buds have also been banned in the UK.
Source: The Independent.
