The new regulations of the EU ban on plastic: one-time sugar packets withdraw from the historical stage

Following the "ban on disposable plastic products", in order to further reduce the impact of product packaging waste on the environment, the European Commission has recently proposed new regulations, common disposable sugar packets in the catering industry, seasoning packets, and disposable packaging in the hotel industry will be prohibited.

The restaurant industry in the EU will no longer offer disposable sugar packets. Photo: European Times

According to the European Times, the new proposal issued by the European Commission says that it will ban some "clearly unnecessary" packaging, such as disposable packaging of fruits and vegetables, disposable hotel toiletries and similar packaging. This means that disposable sugar packets provided by restaurants and cafes for customers to take at any time, and disposable mini-toiletries installed in hotel rooms will be phased out. According to the data, the average person in the EU produces nearly 180 kg of packaging waste per year. In addition to eliminating unnecessary packaging, the new proposal will also promote the use of reusable packaging, limit excessive packaging, and achieve recycling of all product packaging in the EU by 2030, and reduce the total amount of packaging waste by 37% by 2040.

The six-pack rings on the top of six cans of soda will all be disabled. Photo source: Canadian Canadian weekend

At the same time, Canada will also implement the "most stringent" plastic ban from December 20, supermarket shopping no longer have plastic bags, drink drinks no longer have plastic straws, and even the plastic tableware necessary for picnics will all disappear from the market.

According to Canadian Canadian weekend reports, this round of "plastic ban order" involves a total of six categories: free plastic bags provided by supermarkets will completely disappear from people's lives; Plastic mixers in coffee shops have been banned altogether; Disposable tableware including knives, forks and spoons shall not be produced, sold, imported or exported; 6 The six-pack rings on cans of soda are all disabled; Disposable packaging boxes commonly used in restaurants are banned; The production and use of plastic straws for take-away drinks and plastic straws attached to cartons of juice have also been completely banned.

In a post on social media, Environment Minister Peter Gilbeau said he was fed up with plastic waste. About 22 million tonnes of plastic ends up in lakes, rivers and oceans each year, and less than a tenth of the plastic waste Canadians throw away is recycled. The implementation of the "plastic ban order" in Canada is considered to be an important measure to curb domestic plastic pollution within 10 years. However, global efforts are still needed to tackle the major issue of environmental pollution.