EU: Reducing use of plastic bags: Council reaches agreement

23 January 2015

The Council has reached a political agreement on a draft directive to reduce the consumption of lightweight plastic bags. The new EU law will require governments to choose either to introduce a charge on single-use lightweight plastic bags by the end of 2018 or to take measures to reduce their use. If they choose the second option, the annual use of these bags will need to be reduced to an average of 90 per person by the end of 2019 and to 40 bags per person by the end of 2025.
Member states will have 18 months to incorporate the new rules into national legislation following their entry into force (Press Release Council of the European Union, 17 December 2015).
Click here for the press release (62 kB).
Click here for the political agreement (43 kB).
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