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posted by martyb on Thursday March 28 2019, @04:56AM   Printer-friendly
from the California:-'We're-banning-straws!'-EU:-'Hold-my-big-gulp.' dept.

On Wednesday the EU Parliament voted to ban

single-use plastic products such as the straws, cutlery and cotton buds that are clogging the world's oceans.

The ban will take effect in 2021.

Product categories banned include: Cutlery, plates, straws, polystyrene food and drink containers, cotton swabs with plastic stems, and plastic grocery bags. Additionally,

Rules insisting that polluters pay the costs of a clean-up are strengthened, particularly for cigarette manufacturers, who will have to support the recycling of discarded filters.

According to the EU Commission, the waste caused by these products poses a threat to wildlife and fisheries.

No word on disposable diapers.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 28 2019, @07:22AM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 28 2019, @07:22AM (#821213)

    That's probably taken into account. Cotton swabs are already not plastic anymore but some kind of very dense waxed cardboard that mostly behaves like plastic unless you bend it like a paperclip. We're probably gonna get waxed paper straws soon and wooden picnic cutlery.
    It's actually a nice measure I feel but it doesn't matter since I'm packing my bags due to the other doozie the EU dropped on us the other day.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 28 2019, @07:58AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 28 2019, @07:58AM (#821221)

    The EU took a dump on you? Wow. That is Red Dwarf garbage dump epic.
    Must have hurt.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 28 2019, @08:03AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 28 2019, @08:03AM (#821224)

      Must be one heck of a stool [youtube.com]

  • (Score: 2) by NateMich on Thursday March 28 2019, @07:59AM (3 children)

    by NateMich (6662) on Thursday March 28 2019, @07:59AM (#821222)

    Cotton swabs are already not plastic anymore but some kind of very dense waxed cardboard

    They have always been (in my forty some years) made that way here in the US. I have seen plastic ones before, but never understood why you'd even make them out of plastic.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 28 2019, @09:20AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 28 2019, @09:20AM (#821237)

      I've seen a lot of things made out of paper being replaced by plastic versions over the years, yet for some reason it seems for people harder to go back to the single-use paper/cardboard versions. The only reason I could come up with is things that are made of newly made plastic are cheaper than (recycled) paper versions.

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday March 28 2019, @03:33PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 28 2019, @03:33PM (#821356) Journal

      I have always despised the plastic swabs and deliberately sought out the old fashioned kind.

      If you stick the swab somewhere you don't want it to bend. You want it to remain stiff so you have precise control of exactly what you're swabbing. Nostril. Ear. Etc. Yes, I know they say not to do this. But everyone does it anyway.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Thursday March 28 2019, @05:06PM

      by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 28 2019, @05:06PM (#821408) Journal

      Both types are still readily available (here at least). The plastic is stiffer so if you have an itch in your ear canal (where you should never insert them) they are more effective.

      --
      В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды