EU parliament backs ban, limits on single-use plastics

BRUSSELS – The European Parliament has overwhelmingly backed a wide-ranging ban on single-use plastics to counter pollution in seas, fields and waterways.

The ban would affect a range of products for which valid alternatives are available — from plastic straws to earbuds and plates — as of 2021 and would make sure that plastic bottles are 90 per cent recycled by 2025.

Under the plan, fishing nets, which are now a key pollutant in the EU’s Mediterranean sea and Atlantic ocean, will have to be produced differently, too.

The parliament backed the proposals with a 571-53 majority. With the vote, the parliament, the EU Commission and the member states will now enter negotiations in the weeks to come to make it binding legislation.