This past Saturday, July 3, the European Union set the date for the withdrawal of the most polluting plastics on the planet. Plates, cutlery, cotton buds, straws and polythene containers have passed away since this past Saturday and we will never find them again in stores or bars for use.
🆕 Plastic is harming #OurOcean, marine life, coastal economy & even our health
In the 🇪🇺, 50% of #marinelitter consists of single-use plastic items
From 3 July 2021, we Europeans are turning the tide to #BeatPlasticPollution
Learn more:https://t.co/RA6B7xoq7E
Thread 1/3 pic.twitter.com/0qyxU229uv
— EU Environment (@EU_ENV) July 2, 2021
Although the law has not yet been passed to the legal system, the Government of Spain stressed this Saturday that the measure would come into force from the date set by the European authorities, July 3, 2021.
With this measure, the European Commission works to remove disposable products from the market, plastics that are very difficult to recycle and that leave a deep mark on our environment.
It was a month ago when Brussels already warned the member states to harmonize this withdrawal little by little so that the population would not run into problems in the days after the ban on these plastics not very recommended for the environment.
It was on June 5, 2019 when the European Union Directive set this date for the withdrawal in all the countries of the union and making it clear that the sale of any product made with oxodegradable plastics, microspheres of less than 5 millimeters, is prohibited. cotton buds, cutlery, plates, polystyrene containers and glasses made of this same material.
Today is #PlasticBagFreeDay
It is also a historic day #ForNature & #OurOcean as in the 🇪🇺 we say goodbye to many single-use plastic items 🥤🍴
We hope many countries will join us in the fight for #CleanSeas
Together, we will #BeatPlasticPollution https://t.co/iaGuFXPboA pic.twitter.com/TD6Gd9XUAv
— EU Environment (@EU_ENV) July 3, 2021
But what the norm prohibits right now is the introduction into the distribution channel. Any business that has acquired these materials before last Saturday will be able to sell them while their stocks are exhausted.
For this reason, from the European Union they anticipate that for a few months we will continue to see banned plastic products until they stop circulating through the distribution chains of shops.
Although it is a note, since the bill has not yet been processed, and at least until Christmas it will not be ready, the Government has urged companies to comply with what is marked in the specifications of plastic products that now they are prohibited.