Single-use plastic products, such as cotton swabs, cutlery, plates, straws or balloon sticks, are banned from being placed on the market as of this Monday, 1st November, according to a Portuguese government decree-law.
The decree-law was approved by the Council of Ministers in early September and it established a ban on placing these products on the market from November 1st, 2021.
The decree-law partially replaced a European directive of June 5, 2019 on "reducing the impact of single-use plastic products" and "products made from oxodegradable plastic".
Following the European directive, the Government diploma sets two goals for reducing the consumption of cups for beverages and packaging for ready-to-eat foods: an 80% decrease in consumption by December 31, 2026, compared to the values of 2022, and a 90% drop by December 31, 2030.
On the approval of the decree-law, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action announced that, to ensure these goals, measures are planned, to be met from 2024, such as the availability of reusable containers for the consumption of food and beverages by charging a deposit.
Original article available in Portuguese at http://postal.pt/
