Topics
plastic ban
March 2, 2022
UK Plastics Pact publishes second round of ‘problem plastics’ to eliminate by end of 2022; includes non-compostable fruit and vegetable stickers, non-compostable tea and coffee bags, PVC film; longer term goal to remove packaging from whole fruits and vegetables; Pact has reduced consumer packaging 10% between 2018 and 2020
Topics: plastic ban, plastics
Reading time: 0 minutes
March 1, 2022
UK civil society organization Wrap finds selling produce without plastic packaging and date labels would save 100,000 tons food and 10,300 tons plastic in UK yearly; fruits and vegetables studied have the same shelf life without packaging; packaging sizes encourage overconsumption; date labeling encourages early disposal; Foodwatch petitions German government to ban plastic packaging for produce by 2026
Reading time: 2 minutes
February 28, 2022
Civil society organization Foodwatch Germany is petitioning the German government to follow the lead of France and Spain in banning plastic packaging for fresh fruits and vegetables; claims ban would save more than 60,000 tons of plastic waste; French ban went into effect January 2022, Spain plans ban for 2023, Foodwatch petitions Germany for ban by 2026
Topics: plastic, plastic ban
Reading time: 0 minutes
December 24, 2021
Canada moves forward with domestic ban of six single-use plastic products; targets checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware, ring carriers, stir sticks, and straws; ban may come into force before end of 2022; public consultation until March 5, 2022; England considering similar ban with consultation until February 12, 2022
Reading time: 1 minute
September 28, 2021
Following France’s example, Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition is drafting a decree to ban the sale of produce wrapped in plastic by 2023; wants to discourage sales of drinks in single-use plastic bottles by encouraging the installation of drinking fountains and bottle reuse systems
Reading time: 2 minutes
September 22, 2021
UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights issues report on the stages of the plastics cycle and their impacts on human rights; calls “the whole cycle of plastics… a global threat to human rights”
Reading time: 2 minutes
August 24, 2021
India officially adopts Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021; bans import, manufacture, and sale of plastic candy and ice cream sticks, plates, cups, cutlery, trays, and certain wrapping films after July 1, 2022
Topics: India, plastic ban
Reading time: 1 minute
August 5, 2021
House Bill 9147 would ban single-use plastic tableware within four years and drinking straws, stirrers, candy sticks, bags thinner than ten microns, and other small single-use plastics within one year; bill must now pass the country’s Senate in order to become law
Reading time: 2 minutes
July 1, 2021
New Zealand Ministry for the Environment announces plan to ban many hard-to-recycle and single-use plastic items by mid-2025; includes food packaging made from polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, and some degradable plastics, plus all drink stirrers, single-use tableware, and fruit labels; Western Australia moves Plan for Plastics ahead 4 years, banning most single-use plasticware by end of 2021; New South Wales to eliminate most single-use plasticware within a year
Reading time: 2 minutes
February 1, 2021
Friends of Europe hosts online debate bringing together stakeholder groups from industry, regulatory agencies, and NGOs; considers how to achieve a circular plastics economy, discusses the necessity of a global plastic treaty, prevention of plastic waste trade and illegal waste dumping, extended producer responsibility schemes (EPRs), need for unified EU plastic waste market; discussions build on report by European Environment Agency, case study by Zero Waste Europe and report by Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Reading time: 5 minutes
