European Commission's Singe-Use Plastics Campaign - Are You Ready To Change?

With the amount of harmful plastic litter in our oceans and seas, the EU has proposed new EU-wide rules to target the 10 most used single-use plastic products, as well as abandoned fishing gear, most often found on Europe's beaches and seas.

The single-use plastics campaign, which launched on World Environment Day in June 2018, will introduce more readily available, affordable, and sustainable alternatives to the these products, as well as banning some from the market. For products that don't necessarily have a good alternative, the focus will be to limit their use through national consumption reduction and implementing design and labelling requirements, as well as waste management/clean-up obligations for producers.

According to this EU fact sheet and the single-use plastics campaign, 43% of all marine litter polluting our oceans is made up of these 10 types of single-use plastic items:

The campaign is aimed at young, dynamic adults who are always on-the-go, who are concerned about the environment, but continue to make daily choices that affect it. Enjoying take-away coffees and single-use straws are just a few examples. Part of the marketing efforts of the single-use plastics campaign includes a video, which you can watch below.

Plastics make up 85% of marine litter across the world and 70% in Europe. Plastics are also reaching people's home, with micro-plastics in the air, water, and food affecting people's health. With this new campaign that will help tackle the plastics issue, we will see new opportunities for innovation and job creation.

The campaign is addressing all Europeans and is offered in all official EU languages. There will be special focus placed on Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Spain.

So, are you #ReadyToChange?

For more information, please visit: Be Ready To Change