Norwegian Environment Agency wants to ban disposable plastic products in 2021
The Norwegian Environment Agency recommends banning many disposable plastic products from July of next year.
The disposable products that could be covered by such a ban are cutlery, plates, straws, mixing sticks, balloon sticks, cotton swabs, and takeaway food containers and drinking cups made of styrofoam.
“The purpose of the ban is to contribute to less littering in nature and to prevent the plastic from injuring animals that ingest it.
Our proposal complies with the EU directive’s requirements on plastic products,” director Ellen Hambro of the Norwegian Environment Agency noted in September.
“Broad support”
The ban could reduce the use of such disposable products in Norway by 1.9 billion units a year, according to a study carried out by the consulting company Mepex on behalf of the Norwegian Environment Agency.
“There is broad support… and we are now sending our recommendation to the Ministry of Climate and the Environment,” the Norwegian Environment Agency wrote in a press release.
The Directorate pointed out that the disposable products that are proposed to be banned can relatively easily be replaced with other disposable products made of other materials or reusable materials.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
