The plastics directive in Poland is getting closer. The government accepted the project

Let us remind you that on July 3 last year, The Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUP) came into force in the European Union countries. The so-called the plastics directive was adopted in 2019 by the European Parliament. Its goal is to reduce the use of plastic items, such as cutlery, plates, cotton buds and straws.

A breakthrough regarding the plastics directive

Long before July 2021, Poland announced that it would not be able to implement the directive on time. The Ministry of Climate and Environment predicted at the end of last year that the proposed regulations would enter into force at the turn of March and April this year.

When in April the editors of Wprost.pl contacted the ministry about this matter, we received the following response: – The SUP project is currently at the stage of the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers. Its entry into force is planned for the fourth quarter of 2022, and according to the project, some of the provisions are to come into force on January 1, 2023 – the Department of Media Communication of the Ministry of Climate and Environment wrote to us.

Fourth quarter of this year brought a breakthrough in this matter, because last Tuesday the government adopted a draft adapting Polish law to these EU regulations. They assume, among others, that the marketing of single-use plastic products will be prohibited. In addition, an obligation to place information on, among others, the presence of plastics, as well as the resulting negative impact on the environment, i.e. littering or other inappropriate waste disposal methods in the case of these articles. This includes, among others: wet wipes, sanitary napkins, tobacco products with filters or cups for drinks.

List of banned products

The proposed list of banned single-use plastic products to be banned from the market includes:

• cotton buds, other than cotton buds for medical purposes;

• cutlery (forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks);

• plates;

• straws, except for medical purposes;

• drink stirrers;

• sticks attached to and supporting balloons, including mechanisms for those sticks, except for balloons for industrial or other professional uses which are not distributed to consumers;

• food containers made of expanded polystyrene;

• beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene, including their caps and lids;

• beverage cups made of expanded polystyrene, including their caps and lids.

The draft adopted by the government will now be sent to the Sejm.

According to a survey carried out last year by the IQS agency, as many as 75 percent. Poles want to ban the production of plastic plates, cutlery or straws.