For a better user experience please update your browser or use Chrome or Firefox browser.
Utilities
Publication detail
HomeScoping study to assess the feasibility of further EU measures on waste prevention and implementation of the Plastic Bags Directive . Part II, Implementation of Plastic Bags Directive
Scoping study to assess the feasibility of further EU measures on waste prevention and implementation of the Plastic Bags Directive . Part II, Implementation of Plastic Bags Directive
Publication metadata
Plastic carrier bags have become commercially successful due to their low weight and resistance to degradation, but these same properties contribute to their environmental impacts. Moreover, their low cost and single-use design makes them prone to being littered, and it is estimated that, in 2010, more than eight billion plastic bags were littered in the EU. When these bags enter the natural environment — often after having only been used once — they take centuries to degrade, over which time they result in both land and marine pollution, slowly breaking down into microplastics and/or, in the seas, being ingested by marine life. This creates a pathway for microplastics to enter the food chain, with potential negative impacts on human health. Moreover, even when these bags are not littered, their ‘throw-away’ consumption is an inefficient use of resources. In response to this environmental challenge, in 2015, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted Directive (EU) 2015/720 (hereafter also referred to as ‘the Directive’ or the ‘Plastic Bags Directive’) as an amendment to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (hereafter referred to as the PPW Directive), which was adopted in order to prevent/reduce the impact of packaging and packaging waste on the environment. Because the Plastic Bags Directive has been integrated into the PPW Directive, the numbering of articles in this report corresponds to the current numbering of the PPW Directive (as amended by the Plastic Bags Directive). The Plastic Bags Directive was the first EU directive requiring Member States to take measures to achieve a sustained reduction in the consumption of a specified product, in this case LPCBs. While plastic carrier bags serve several purposes, LPCBs are less frequently reused than thicker plastic carrier bags, and as such are more likely to become waste and are more prone to littering. The Plastic Bags Directive therefore aims to reduce consumption of LPCBs in order to combat littering, change consumer behaviour and promote waste prevention.
- Published:
- Corporate author(s): Directorate-General for Environment (European Commission) , Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd
- Personal author(s): Sherrington, Chris ; Watson, Steven ; Marsh, Paul ; Bradley, Caroline
- Themes: Environmental regulations , Approximation of legislation
- Subject: comparative analysis , consumption , directive (EU) , EU Member State , national implementing measure , packaging , plastics , prevention of pollution , waste recycling
|
PDF
|
|||
| ISSN | ISBN 978-92-76-46738-0 | DOI 10.2779/304791 | Catalogue number KH-01-22-046-EN-N |
- Released on EU Publications:
Document viewer
Note:
The publication cannot be displayed in the document viewer. Open web version
You may access it from: Download and languages