UK initiatives to reduce pollution by plastic packaging
A new £1.4m ‘UK Circular Plastics Flagship Projects Competition’ was launched at the inaugural annual meeting of the UK Plastics Pact, held in London in October, to support creative business ideas to stop plastic being thrown away[3].
Collaboration on plastics recycling
Unilever and Veolia have signed an agreement to work jointly on technologies that will help create a circular economy on plastics across various geographies, starting in India and Indonesia[2].
The companies acknowledge that the issue of plastic waste is a shared responsibility that requires bold action across the value chain to develop and scale up collection and reprocessing infrastructure, which is critical in the transition towards a circular economy.
EU implements ban on single-use plastics
Single-use plastic items, such as plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks or cotton buds, will be banned in the EU under plans adopted in October 2018[1].
These products, which make up over 70% of marine litter, will be banned from the EU market from 2021, under draft plans approved by the European Parliament.
Products made of oxo-degradable plastics, such as bags or packaging, and fast-food containers made of expanded polystyrene have also been added to this list.
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