adopt a strategy on plastics in the circular economy, addressing issues such as recyclability, biodegradability, the presence of hazardous substances in certain plastics, and marine litter. propose a more ambitious target for the recycling of plastic packaging in the revised legislative proposal on waste.

Funding of over €650 million under Horizon 2020 and €5.5 billion under the structural funds; Actions to reduce food waste including a common measurement methodology, improved date marking, and tools to meet the global Sustainable Development Goal to halve food waste by 2030; Development of quality standards for secondary raw materials to increase the confidence of operators in the single market; Measures in the Ecodesign working plan for 2015-2017 to promote reparability, durability and recyclability of products, in addition to energy efficiency; A revised Regulation on fertilisers, to facilitate the recognition of organic and waste-based fertilisers in the single market and support the role of bio-nutrients; A strategy on ...[+++]plastics in the circular economy, addressing issues of recyclability, biodegradability, the presence of hazardous substances in plastics, and the Sustainable Development Goals target for significantly reducing marine litter; A series of actions on water reuse including a legislative proposal on minimum requirements for the reuse of wastewater.

Physicians around the country said to the hospitals, “Don't buy any more of that plastic material we're using in the hospitals, because when we throw it away, we burn it, we produce PVCs, and at the same time we know that phthalate, a particular plastic compound, is slipping out of this material into the blood of whoever is exposed to it.

When asked about plastic waste, 96 % of respondents agree that more initiatives are needed by industry to limit plastic waste and increase recycling, 94 % agree that better information should be provided about which plastics are recyclable, 93 % agree that the production of non-recyclable plastics should be stopped and recyclable materials used instead, while 92 % agree that measures should be taken to reduce the use of single-use plastic items, such as shopping bags.

The Green Paper also asks how to improve the modular and chemical design of plastic to improve recyclability, how to reduce marine litter and whether there is a need to promote biodegradable plastics.

Mixtures and articles produced from plastic material shall not be placed on the market if the concentration of cadmium (expressed as Cd metal) is equal to or greater than 0,01 % by weight of the plastic material.