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EU parliament approves ban on single-use plastics, including straws and cotton buds

The parliament said its ban across the EU targets single-use cutlery, cotton buds, straws and stirrers.

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT has voted overwhelmingly for an EU-wide ban on single-use plastics such as straws, cutlery, cotton buds and balloon sticks.

The European Commission, the 28-nation EU’s executive arm, proposed banning such items that it said account for 70% of the waste in the oceans and beaches.

“Today we are one step closer to eliminating the most problematic single-use plastic products in Europe,” the EU’s environment commissioner Karmenu Vella said.

The European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, voted for the ban on single-use plastic by 571 votes for, 53 against and 34 abstentions.

The legislation which supporters want to take effect by 2021 must still be approved in negotiations involving the member states, parliament and the commission.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said the vote put “the EU on track as a global leader in reducing plastic pollution and pioneering stronger circular economies”. 

However, it said the parliament missed an opportunity to close a legal loophole on the definition of single-use plastics, adding it allows products to be labelled re-usable when they may not be.

The manufacturers associations PlasticsEurope said the measures are “disproportionate,” adding bans discourage investment needed to develop ways to recycle plastics.

Like WWF, it said single-use plastics definitions remain “ambiguous.”

The parliament said its ban across the EU targets single-use cutlery, cotton buds, straws and stirrers, which were on the commission’s original list of 10 items. 

MEPs added polystyrenes used to wrap fast-food and oxo-plastics, such as bags that have been touted as biodegradable but which break up into tiny particles.

The legislation calls for plastic items where no alternatives are available to be reduced by at least 25% by 2025. 

‘Most ambitious legislation’ 

Under the ban, drinks bottles and other plastics will have to be collected separately and recycled at a rate of 90% by 2025.

The legislation calls for reducing waste from tobacco products, especially cigarette filters containing plastic, by 50% by 2025 and 80% by 2030.

Cigarette butts can take up to 12 years to disintegrate when thrown on a road, the parliament said. 

It calls for member states to ensure that tobacco firms cover the costs of waste collection for those products.

The bill calls on member countries to ensure that at least 50% of lost or abandoned fishing gear containing plastic is collected annually.

It calls for recycling at least 15% of fishing gear – which accounts for 27% of the litter on Europe’s beaches – by 2025.

Producers of fishing gear containing plastic will also need to assume the cost of collecting litter and help meet the recycling target.

Frederique Ries, member of the liberal ALDE party, said the bill he steered through parliament is “the most ambitious legislation against single-use plastics.”

He added “it is up to us now to stay the course in the upcoming negotiations with” the EU member states, which could start next month.

He said the legislation is needed to protect the environment and cut damage from plastics that will rise to an estimated 22 billion euros by 2030.

The European Commission has said businesses will benefit from one set of rules for an EU market of around 500 million people.

It said it will encourage EU companies to develop economies of scale and become more competitive in the “booming” global market for sustainable products.

The EU push to crack down on plastic use follows China’s decision to ban imports of foreign waste products for recycling.

© – AFP, 2018

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    Mute John Manahan
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 11:18 AM

    Never heard of them.

    61
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    Mute Christopher Duffin
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 11:16 AM

    While competition is good, there are far too many mobile companies in such a small country.

    42
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    Mute Jayniemac
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 11:22 AM

    Same as, I’ve never heard of them!

    30
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    Mute Jamie Murphy
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 11:17 AM

    So are the phones they sold unlocked? if not are they going to give unlock codes out?

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    Mute Michele Neylon
    Favourite Michele Neylon
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 11:32 AM

    If they’re not unlocked now they’ll have to unlock them (I think they’re obliged to .. )

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    Mute Jamie Murphy
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 11:37 AM

    I hope they will make it easy and just text out unlock codes if the phones are not unlocked. My dad is in love with his JCB toughphone. Its been through 9 rounds of the washing machine and still works perfectly!

    18
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    Mute Kathleen O Toole Tighe
    Favourite Kathleen O Toole Tighe
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 12:10 PM

    I never even heard of them !

    21
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    Mute jason bourne
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 12:12 PM

    Seems the problem was they didn’t advertise properly or at all considering how few people have even heard of the company

    17
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    Mute Dec Byrne
    Favourite Dec Byrne
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 3:26 PM

    @Alan Madden, the reason they were only prepaid at the moment was that you apparently have to have a certain amount of pre paid customers signed up before you can branch out into the ”bill pay” market. I liked thier ad’s but in fairness to them it must be hard to go up against the big boys advertising budgets. Best of luck to them at least they tried, and their money was going back into the communities and charities in Ireland.

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    Mute Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown
    Favourite Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 10:42 PM

    They haven’t filed accounts with CRO yet…since 2007 so I’m sure there’s plenty they haven’t contributed to their communities.

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    Mute Barry
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 11:57 AM

    Not surprised, I’ve never ever seen them even advertised outside of Dublin.
    Only way I found out about them was some link on boards which showed they had adverts on some buses in Dublin

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    Mute Róisín Áine Nic Dhonnacha
    Favourite Róisín Áine Nic Dhonnacha
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 12:17 PM

    I hadn’t heard of them either until yesterday evening when someone asked me about a linkedin profile of someone connected to the company.

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    Mute Stepping Stones
    Favourite Stepping Stones
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 2:13 PM

    I never herd of them either. Their marketing strategy mustn’t have been great.

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    Mute Daithí Ó'Céileachair
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 11:25 AM

    Maybe the phones will still work on the Vodafone network even if they are locked.

    6
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    Mute Pat Gallagher
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 12:58 PM

    how were they the only Irish owned network? is Meteor not Irish? I thought view were?

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    Mute Paddy O'Reilly
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 1:26 PM

    Meteor is owned by Eircom, who last I heard was owned by Singapore Technologies Telemedia, but Eircom keeps getting asset stripped and bought & sold,

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    Mute Conor Foley
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 1:26 PM

    Meteor is part of eircom which is in turn (currently) majority owned by STT (Singapore Technologies Telemedia) so its not irish owned

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    Mute Róisín Áine Nic Dhonnacha
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 3:44 PM

    There was an ad?

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    Mute Alan Madden
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    Aug 3rd 2011, 1:26 PM

    @pat – they ‘were’ the only irish owned “pre paid” mobile operator. Bit silly really cos it does appear at first glance that they are the only Irish owned operator here.

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    Mute Eoin Sheehy
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    Aug 4th 2011, 11:37 AM

    I didn’t even hear about them, and once I heard they were closing down I got a look at their website and they’re basically the cheapest, I’m so annoyed!

    1
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