The repercussions of the coronavirus plague have been massive – but there is a chance some may be positive. The EU has opted to apply a tax on single use plastics, and put the money raised towards helping a post-pandemic recovery. By Jeremy Torr.
Brussels, January 2021. According to some estimates, more than 25 million tonnes of plastic waste are discarded across the 27 EU countries every year. Worse, the average collection and recycling rate for the region is less than 30%. The biggest culprit is packaging and disposable containers – this makes up more than 50% of the total.
As a result, the EU lawmakers are taking a two-pronged approach. First, they are banning the use of single-use plastics (SUPs) where there is an alternative, recyclable alternative. The new law asserts that most plastic is “generally not designed for re-use or cost-effective recycling, meaning that related production and consumption patterns have become increasingly inefficient and linear.”
“Europe should be a key player at a global level” – Frédérique Ries. Courtesy Europa.
So the EU will ban, from mid 2021, the use of SUP in products such as cotton buds, cutlery, cups and plates, stirrers and straws, bags and expanded polystyrene boxes and cups. It has also set targets that stipulate member States have to reach a 90% recycling target for all plastic bottles by 2029, and that all bottles should have more than 30% recycled content by 2030.
Secondly - and more specifically related to the pandemic - EU lawmakers are applying a tax to the use of non-recyclable plastic. This will be levied on users of single use plastic from the start of 2021 on a weight basis, and will apply to non-recyclable plastic packaging waste at €800 per tonne. Best of all, the income will be allocated to Europe’s pandemic recovery fund. It is estimated this new tax could raise more than €7billion, which would then be allocated towards pandemic relief across the whole of the union.
“These are steps towards establishing a circular economy in which the design and production of plastics and plastic products fully respect reuse, repair and recycling needs and in which more sustainable materials are developed and promoted,” said the EU in a statement.
Although it is not yet clear exactly who will pay the plastic tax – it could be the manufacturer of the single use plastic, the company that uses/manufactures product, or the retailer that sells it – there is no doubt the end users will see an increase in the price of SUP-related products. Which will see demand veer towards recyclable product packaging, and with luck a reduction of SUP pollution in cities, streets, rivers and seas.
“This legislation will (also help) reduce the environmental damage bill by €22 billion – the estimated cost of plastic pollution in Europe until 2030,” said Belgian MEP Frédérique Ries. “Europe is only responsible for a small part of the plastic polluting our oceans,” added Ries. “It can and should, however, be a key player in finding a solution, leading at a global level, as it has done in the past in the fight against climate change."
“Plastics should remain top of the political agenda in Europe and across the world.” - Ana Luísa Patrício Silva. Courtesy CESAM.
Regrettably, the use of SUP has rocketed during the pandemic, not only through the use of packaged food home delivery services to help sustain quarantines and lockdowns, but also in the widespread use of single use masks, gloves and other protective equipment. But this, say the authors of a new report on Covid-related SUP use, should only be a blip, not an excuse to go backwards in plastic replacement.
“Plastics should remain in the top of the political agenda in Europe and across the world, not only to minimise plastic leakage and pollution, but to promote sustainable growth,” noted a research team led by Ana Luísa Patrício Silva, at University of Aveiro, Portugal.
To this end, the income from the tax, says the EU, is slated to be added to the EU’s €750 billion pandemic recovery fund, with each country receiving funds proportionate to the impact of the pandemic on their economy. “By standing united – 27 member states backing the Commission – we will raise money … to together fight the worst economic crisis ever,” said EU president Ursula von der Leyen.