The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted the report by Frédérique RIES (ALDE, BE) on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment.
The committee recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission's proposal as follows.
Scope: the amended text stipulates that the Directive shall apply to the single-use plastic products listed in the Annex and to fishing and aquaculture gear containing plastic.
Consumption reduction: the aim of the proposed Directive is to introduce an EU-level ban on single-use plastic products whenever there are alternatives. The consumption of several other items, for which no alternative exists, will have to be reduced by Member States in an ambitious and sustained manner by 2025. This includes single-use burger boxes, sandwich boxes or food containers for fruits, vegetables, desserts or ice creams. Member states will draft national plans to encourage the use of products suitable for multiple use, as well as re-using and recycling.
Member States shall draw up national plans describing the measures to achieve a significant reduction in the consumption of the single-use plastic products. They shall notify the Commission of the plans and shall update them where necessary. The Commission may issue recommendations on those plans. National quantitative reduction targets shall also be established.
Cigarette butts and lost fishing gear: Member States shall take the necessary measures to achieve a sustained reduction of the environmental impact of waste from tobacco products, and in particular tobacco product filters containing plastic, by reducing post-consumption waste from tobacco product filters containing plastic as follows: 50 % by 2025 and 80 % by 2030.
Member States shall ensure on that basis that a minimum collection rate of fishing gear containing plastic is achieved annually. From 2025 the minimum collection rate shall be 50 % calculated on the basis of the total weight of fishing gear containing plastic collected in a given year in the Member State concerned, expressed as a percentage of the average weight of fishing gear containing plastic placed on the market in the three preceding years in that Member State. They shall also ensure that those extended producer responsibility schemes achieve a recycling target of at least 15 % for fishing gear containing plastic by 2025.
Product requirements: Member States shall ensure that by 2025 beverage bottles listed in Part C of the Annex may be placed on the market only if they are made from at least 35 % recycled content and are recyclable. By 1 January 2022, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down the methodology for the calculation of recycled content. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure.
Marking requirements: the report stipulated that Member States shall ensure that each sales packaging of the single-use plastic products, except tobacco products with filters and filters marketed for use in combination with tobacco products, placed on the market bears a conspicuous, clearly legible and indelible marking, both on packaging containing several units and on each separate unit, when packaged individually, informing consumers of the recyclability of the product.
Costs: with regard to the costs to clean up litter, Member States shall ensure that the financial contributions paid by the producers are established in a proportionate way and take into account the costs of clean-up of individual products or product groups. The costs shall be limited to activities undertaken on a regular basis by public authorities or on their behalf, which shall include litter clean-up activities aiming to meet relevant obligations concerning waste prevention and environmental protection under legislative acts of the Union.
The Commission shall develop guidelines, in consultation with Member States, on the distribution of the costs to clean up litter covered by the extended producer responsibility schemes.
Deposit refunds schemes: the Commission shall develop guidelines, in consultation with Member States, on the functioning of deposit-refund schemes.