The European Commission has voted to ban most of the single-use  plastic products such as cutlery and packaging in the EU.

The ban covers 10 plastic products which is calculated to account for approximately 70 percent of the plastic waste found on beaches and in the ocean. The plastic products is e.g. plastic cotton swabs, disposable cups, plastic plates and plastic stirrers.

The bill must initially be approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union before it can be implemented. The Commission, which stands for drafting EU legislations, calls for the proposal to be processed urgently for the citizens to be able to see clear results already by May 2019.

Other legislative proposals against plastic waste:
- Prohibition of plastic in specific products: cotton swabs, cutlery, plates, straws, stirring sticks, balloon sticks and disposable drinking cups without a lid.
- Aiming to use less plastic products and plastic packaging.
- Manufacturers are to partially pay for the cleanup of: Food packaging, candy wraps and chips bags, drinking cups, tobacco products with filters, wet tissues, balloons and plastic bags.

Read about McDonalds fighting plastic waste  and corporate giants fighting plastic straws.