In a bid to combat plastic pollution, the EU is making it mandatory to have caps attached to bottles to prevent them from dispersing. This is part of a wider plan to combat single-use plastic items.
From Wednesday July 3, all drinks sold with a plastic cap in the European Union must be equipped with a system allowing this cap to be kept attached to the container, whether bottle or brick, to prevent They don’t end up in the wild.
Water, soda, milk, iced tea… Solidarity caps must become more widespread under a 2019 European Union directive seeking to reduce plastic pollution.
Scourges of European beaches
“Plastic caps and lids used for drinks containers are among the single-use plastic items most frequently found on EU beaches”, is underlined in this directive which had to be transposed into the law of the Member States.
“Also, the placing on the market of beverage containers which are single-use plastic products should only be authorized if the design of these containers meets specific requirements significantly reducing the dispersion in the environment of the caps and plastic lids for beverage containers,” it is added.
EU tackles single-use plastic
This applies not only to plastic bottles but also to “composite packaging” such as milk or juice cartons that contain cardboard, plastic and aluminium. However, glass or metal containers and products “for medical purposes” are excluded.
Presenting itself as a “forerunner” in the field, the Cristalline water brand started using solidarity corks in 2016. “It prevents corks from dispersing in nature and facilitates selective sorting for optimal recycling,” says it is worth in a press release.
With the 2019 directive, the EU tackled all single-use plastic products: plates, cutlery, straws and cotton buds produced from this petroleum-based material were banned from 2021. The sale of existing stocks was able to continue.
