Single Use Plastic, the new European Union directives are underway
The new European Union directives on the use of single-use plastic came into force on 3 July.
The new European SUP Directive on single-use plastic bans the disposable objects most frequently found on beaches and in the seas: straws, cotton buds, plates and cutlery, cocktail stirrers, balloon sticks, polystyrene food and drink containers.
However, a dispute has arisen between Italy and the European Commission on two aspects that the Government contests the new directive.
The dispute between Italy and the European Union
The EU has chosen to ban polluting single-use plastic items that can be dispensed with or replaced with biodegradable items.
In the directive, however, there is no distinction between traditional plastic objects (the one produced from petroleum and not biodegradable) and biodegradable plastic objects: produced from natural raw materials such as corn, biodegradable in the environment and compostable (i.e. convertible into compost fertilizer).
On the other hand, Italian Law 53/2021 has excluded from the ban all compostable disposable plastics, in which the Italian industry is very competitive.
Another point of contention concerns the plasticized paper (covered with a thin plastic veil) used for plates, cups and packaging. The directive does not mention it directly, but the guidelines extend the ban to these objects as well. Italy is a large producer of plasticized paper, and the extension of the ban to this would have put our paper industry in crisis.
The contrast should end because the Vice-President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, following a conversation with the Minister of Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolan , has committed to revise the guidelines of the directive.
In the meantime, in Italy we will continue to buy and produce plastic while waiting for the new decree that is rumored to arrive no earlier than October.
