BERLIN (AP) Plastic knives just wont cut it any longer, if the European Union has its way.
The 28-nation bloc moved closer today to banning single-use straws, plates, cutlery and cotton swabs after officials from EU member states and the European Parliament said theyre following recommendations by its executive branch designed to reduce marine pollution.
Environmental campaigners have been calling for curbs on throwaway plastic thats accumulating in the oceans. Scientific studies have found minuscule particles known as microplastics are being consumed by animals throughout the food chain, though the impact on human health is unclear.
When we have a situation where one year you can bring your fish home in a plastic bag, and the next year you are bringing that bag home in a fish, we have to work hard and work fast, said Karmenu Vella, the European commissioner for environment, maritime affairs and fisheries.
The EUs executive branch, the European Commission, estimates that almost 60 percent of the 25.8 million metric tons (28.4 million tons) of plastic waste produced in the bloc each year comes from packaging, with much of it exported to third countries rather than recycled.
