146,265 of 175,000 signatures

To national governments of the European Council

Petition

We urge you to take joint and swift action to support the European Commission's proposal to reduce single-use plastics and make sure plastic polluting corporations pay. We call on you to champion this proposal in the face of other national governments who may try to weaken it due to pressure from the plastics lobby.

Why is this important?

The European Commission has proposed an ambitious new plastic strategy to reduce single-use plastics and plastic pollution. But some member states and the plastic lobby are trying to weaken the strategy and hold Europe back! We can’t let this to happen - here is why:

  • Europe is the world's second largest producer of plastic and our vast use of plastic is growing year-on-year. [1]
  • More than 80% of trash in our oceans is made of plastic. [2]
  • 8 million tonnes of plastic is dumped into the ocean every year - the equivalent of a truckload of waste every minute! [3]
  • This plastic waste also ends up on our plates: according to a study, the average European shellfish consumer is eating up to 11,000 plastic fragments in their seafood each year. [4]
  • Experts warn that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than sea life. [5]

The good news is that now we have the opportunity to clean up our act: after more than 750,000 of us called on the EU to take action, the European Commission proposed new rules to reduce single-use plastics and plastic pollution. The proposal positions the EU as the leader in the global fight against plastic pollution by introducing a number of unprecedented measures to curb plastic waste. [6].

But the plastic industry could still derail this massive win for our planet. EU governments have to approve the proposed legislation - and you can bet plastic industry lobbyists are already gearing up to convince member states to oppose or to water-down the proposal.

We need to let EU governments know that their citizens expect them to act on plastic pollution, and that we are not willing to be pushed backward by the plastic lobby.

We acknowledge that many people with disabilities don't have the luxury to live a plastic-free life. For example, people with mobility-related impairments or neurological conditions rely on plastic straws because of their flexible and temperature-resilient qualities. We want to make sure that the needs of people with disabilities are addressed in the legislative process, and that alternatives are found to address them. These genuinely important needs should not be used by the plastics lobby to hold back wider efforts to stem the tide of plastic waste.

References:

[1] https://www.plasticseurope.org/en/newsroom/press-releases/european-plastics-industry-continues-its-stable-trend-continuation-its-recovery

[2] http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-18-3909_en.htm

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/14/sea-to-plate-plastic-got-into-fish https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/10/every-minute-one-garbage-truck-of-plastic-is-dumped-into-our-oceans/

[4] http://www.ecotox.ugent.be/microplastics-bivalves-cultured-human-consumption

[5] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/19/more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-sea-by-2050-warns-ellen-macarthur

[6] http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-18-3909_en.htm

In partnership with:

Please can you chip in?

The EU has proposed an ambitious strategy to reduce single-use plastics and clean up the mounting plastic pollution in our oceans! But some EU governments could try to hold Europe back, together with the plastic lobby.

Will chip in just a few pounds each month so that our community can keep the pressure up on EU countries to accept the new plastics strategy?


Can you spread the word?

You're signing this as Not you? Click here

Next step - spread the word

You're signing this as Not you? Click here