(Brussels) “Single-use plastic products are made wholly or partly of plastic and are typically intended to be used just once or for a short period of time before they are thrown away. One of the main purposes of this directive is to reduce the amount of plastic waste which we create. Under the new rules, single-use plastic plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks and cotton buds will be banned by 2021”. Today, the European Council has formally adopted the EU legislation aimed at “cracking down on plastic pollution”. The single-use plastics directive, a statement reads, “builds on the EU’s existing waste legislation but goes further by setting stricter rules for those types of products and packaging which are among the top ten most frequently found items polluting European beaches”. The new rules “ban the use of certain throwaway plastic products for which alternatives exist”. “Member states have agreed to achieve a 90% collection target for plastic bottles by 2029, and plastic bottles will have to contain at least 25% of recycled content by 2025 and 30% by 2030”. The legislative procedure, which started last year, was concluded in the European Parliament at the end of 2018.