France acts to ban plastic plates and cups

Plastic eating utensils are to be outlawed in France by 2020.

Items such as plastic cutlery, cups and crockery are being targeted by the new law unless they are made from biologically-sourced materials and that they can be composted.

Alternative processing is possible through the use of materials such as processed plant starch, bio-plastics and paper.

The initiative is part of a bill of environmental measures agreed last year, called the Energy Transition for Green Growth, which seek to alleviate the effects of climate change on the globe.

The ban follows a similar French ban on plastic bags.

But there will be challenges from vested interests. Pack2Go Europe, an organisation representing European packaging manufacturers, believes the move contravenes European law of the free movement of goods.

"We are urging the European Commission to do the right thing and to take legal action against France for infringing European law," said Eamonn Bates, secretary general of the Brussels-based group.

"If they don't, we will."

Bates believes there is no proof that materials sourced biologically are better for the environment.

The ban, he added, could increase the problem of litter because consumers might think that the items are biodegradable and that, therefore, they can be left behind.

The noose is tightening around the use of disposable plastic products. An overwhelming amount of plastic items end up in the world’s oceans, to the detriment of the sealife.

Plastic bags have been banned or regulated by charge in a number of places, including Portugal and the UK. A number of large cities in the US have also begun to regulate against plastic bag use, including New York City and the entire state of Hawaii.

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