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EU Parliament to phase out plastic water bottles
TRASBOURG, France, June 12, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The European Parliament
has told its lawmakers and staff to set an example for EU citizens by no
longer drinking water from plastic bottles by next year.
The European Parliament bureau headed by Antonio Tajani and 14 vice
presidents adopted a measure late Monday to phase out the plastic bottles and
build a network of drinking fountains.
“Happy to announce that the EP bureau has decided to get rid of all plastic
bottles and minimise single use plastic altogether at the parliament from
July 2019,” tweeted Heidi Hautala, an EP vice president, on Tuesday.
“Phase out already under way! EP will lead by example!,” added Hautala, a
Finnish ecologist.
The move comes amid broader European Union and international efforts to
stop eight million tonnes of plastic waste polluting the world’s oceans
annually.
One million bottles were consumed last year during events and meetings in
the EP which gathers in the French city of Strasbourg and also in Brussels.
The European Commission, the 28-nation EU’s executive arm, last month
proposed a bloc-wide ban on single-use plastics such as straws, cutlery and
cotton buds.
The commission hopes the measure will be endorsed by the European
Parliament and the member states before its mandate ends in 2019, though it
will unlikely enter into force before 2022.
The commission also proposed that member countries collect 90 percent of
single-use plastic drinks bottles by 2025, through deposit refund schemes.
BSS/AFP/MRI/2307 hrs