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(Plasteurope) -- A year after Italy became the first
European country to ban non-biodegradable PE bags. Regulations as to the
permitted levels of degradability are still controversial. As retailers were
permitted to use up their stocks of non-biodegradable bags up to the end of
2011, the switch evidently is not yet visible. But with former EU commissioner
Mario Monti now in the prime minister’s seat, it appears that attempts by
plastics industry groupings to torpedo the legislation have definitely
failed.
For its own purposes, Italy will adopt the EU degradability standard EN
13432, part of the European Packaging Directive EC 94/62. This specifies, among
other things, that the material must break down by at least 90% in less than six
months. Some bag manufacturers and organisations are critical. Part of the trade
union sector complains that the legislation will lead to many job losses, while
others argue that it will benefit plans to set up a “green” plastics hub at the
former Vinyls Italia site of Porto Torres in Sardinia. Plastics converters who
produce bags contend that the cost of retooling equipment will be
prohibitive.
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In mid-January, environmental organisations called on the European
Commission (EC) to finally move toward regulating plastic bags. The high level
of support shown by EU private citizens for such a move - 53% participating in
an EU query strongly favoured an outright ban - “means that the Commission will
be under pressure to take action,” the organisations said in a
statement. |
