Straws and cotton buds out as officials warn ocean plastic could outnumber fish
Plastic straws and cotton buds will be banned under proposals approved by the European Parliament earlier today.
The rules, designed to reduce ocean pollution, would ban ten single-use products with readily available alternatives by 2021.
Read more: Here's how we tackle the biggest source of microplastic pollution
The list includes polystyrene fast-food containers and products made from oxo-degradable plastics, which critics say do not completely break down.
The proposals will also put greater responsibility on manufacturers to recycle and cover the costs of waste management.
They would ensure that 90 per cent of plastic bottles are recycled by 2025 and require waste from cigarette butts to be halved by 2025.
The new rules were overwhelmingly approved by the European Parliament, but could still face opposition from members states before they are put into law.
Until recently around two thirds of the UK’s plastic waste was sent to China according to figures from Greenpeace, however a recent ban has caused exporters to rethink.
Read more: Who could be against a war on plastic? Lots of people, actually
"Europe has to come to terms with the fact that we cannot just put it on someone else's shoulders," the EU Commission’s deputy head Frans Timmermans told Reuters.
"It is the first strategy in the world that looks at the whole issue of the role of plastics in our economy," he added. "If we don't move now, if we don't move swiftly … you will have more plastic in the oceans than fish."