While members of the UN Senate voted to reject the first draft of the Green New Deal this week, members of European Parliament did the world a favor by voting to ban an array of single-use plastics as part of a sweeping law against plastic waste that despoils beaches and pollutes oceans.
The ban will outlaw single-use plastic cutlery, cotton buds, straws and stirrers as well as polystyrene cups and wet wipes. The successful vote by MEPs paves the way for a ban on single-use plastics to come into force by 2021 in all EU member states.
With the ban coming into effect in two years, effective alternatives for single-use plastics will have to be created quickly, which could lead to a new wave of sustainable solutions that will become the future of packaging.
