The EuPC has issued a statement in response to the EU Commissioner for the Environment’s consideration of a general ban on plastic packaging.
Virginijus Sinkevicius has drawn criticism from the plastics and packaging industries after telling Die Welt newspaper that the Commission was looking at a ban on plastic packaging.
The EuPC statement said: “Single-use plastics items serve many important functions in terms of health, hygiene, preservation, and life extension of food products. Their ban and reduction by European authorities and brand owners and retailers, carried out quickly and superficially, are now already negatively affecting the environment.”
“Decisions to switch away from plastics are made without considering the environmental impact of the substitute material chosen or whether there is an adequate collection and treatment infrastructure in place. The disconnection between reality and policy is growing every day.”
“Moreover, single-use plastics are very difficult to define and might be different from one country to another due to cultural differences and habits of consumption.”
“Some environmental scandals are popping up in countries in Europe die to the pushed material shift as alternatives to plastics are by far less environmentally friendly and use more water and produce far more CO2. The overall environmental impact of the populistic directive is not so positive as anticipated in 2019.”
“However, now in January 2020, the EU Green Deal is exactly asking for the opposite direction to be taken when it comes to material consumption in Europe. How can we reconcile both objectives?”
“Statements such as ‘we want to ban all plastics packaging’ will certainly mean further and very serious damage to our planet in terms of CO2 consumption and putting at risk health issues and food safety requirements for EU consumers.”
“We would expect the EU Commission to ensure instead a full implementation by Member States without derogations of a plastics landfill ban in Europe. This would mean taking the lead in waste management. However, also here we still see very few activities and many conservative actions in a fragmented Europe when it comes to waste management plans.”
“Will the Green Deal fund provide funding for the loss of employment in Europe and the closing down of plastic converting plants? Once more all measures taken so far penalise only the plastic products and not the behaviour and this goes against the further development of a circular economy model.”
Alexandre Dangis, EuPC Managing Director, said: “We hope soon to get the opportunity to explain to EU Commissioner Sinkevicios what is currently happening in the real economy and the risks of opting out of plastics without a true assessment of the consequences for health, the environment, and jobs.”