EU Parliament Vote to Ban Single-Use Plastic Is A Victory for Oceans

In a landmark vote, the European Union Parliament voted for a complete ban on single-use plastic goods to stop ocean pollution.

Photo by Justin Hofman / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

With a 571-33 majority vote, the bill introduced by Frédérique Ries, passed with overwhelming approval and initiates a ban on single-use plastic goods ranging from cutlery and plates to straws, cotton buds, drink stirrers and balloon sticks. The ban also extends to a reduction in single-use plastic cups and food containers. The goal is to have the new legislation in effect throughout the European Union by 2021. The ruling will also effect the UK before the end of the Brexit transition. Additional plastic ban measures are already being incorporated in the UK and several EU countries.

Public concerns about ocean pollution have been growing, where the amount of plastic will outnumber fish, if plastic pollution continues at the same rate happening today. As much as eight million tons of plastic end up in oceans annually. More than 80 percent of all pollution in oceans comes from plastics.

After David Attenborough's BBC Blue Planet series aired, public support for plastic bans surged, leading to the proposed EU legislation in May of this year.

Plastics That are Banned

The new legislation targets common single-use plastic products that have been literally oceans for decades now and are also responsible for injuring ocean wildlife. Plastics spread quickly by traveling on ocean currents. While the plastics to be banned account for 150,000 tonnes of plastic annually in European waters alone, only a small fraction of the eight million tons of plastic entering ocean waters worldwide, the step is still significant as it prevents further pollution and encourages societal change. These ten common plastic objects account for 70 percent of plastic pollution entering European waters.

Banned items ranging from cotton buds to plastic straws and cutlery are also easily replaceable via cardboard containers, paper straws and reusable metal cutlery. Environmental damage caused by plastic pollution in Europe is estimated to cost 22 billion euros by 2030.

Effects on Marine Life

Plastic in the ocean has a serious deleterious effect on marine life, killing fish and large aquatic mammals. Whales often eat plastic bags and are then unable to eat real food and thus die of suffocation and starvation.

Plastic breaks down in the water into smaller pieces or micro plastic and never completes decomposes. Instead, these micro fragments end up in fish and are consumed by other marine mammals, land mammals and human beings. The phenomenon of plastic pollution is widespread. Large amounts of plastic waste also wash up on beaches, where sea birds, turtles and other animals chew them and often die from poisoning and suffocation.

Deep Sea Creatures Ingest Plastic For Over 40 Years
New research by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in Oban published in Environmental Pollution, has led to the discovery of plastics such as polyester and nylon in the bodies of deep sea creatures for at least 40 years. Researchers examined animal specimens collected underwater at a depth of 6,561 feet or 2,000 meters in the Rockall Trough off the Western Isles in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. They found eight different types of plastic in over 48 percent of starfish, sea stars and brittle stars collected from 1976 to 2015.

The UK Plastics Pact (WRAP)

More than 40 companies have signed up a pact called the UK Plastics Pact by the sustainability group WRAP to eliminate single-use packaging via better design and manage the entire plastics value chain from supply to design, distribution, consumption and recycling to prevent plastic waste and pollution. The goal is to cut down plastic pollution drastically within the next seven years. Companies who have signed the pact include Coca-Cola and Asda as well as trade associations and branches of government. Together, these companies account for as much as 80 percent of all plastic packaging in UK supermarkets.

Consumer goods providers Procter & Gamble and Marks & Spencer, among others, have agreed to make all plastic packaging recyclable or compostable by 2025.

Promises made to reduce plastic pollution include:

Eliminating difficult or unnecessary single use plastic packaging through better design
Making 100% of plastic packaging reusable or recyclable or compostable
Ensuring 30% of plastic packaging is recyclable material

WRAP’s initiative is supported by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, an organization that discovered that 95 percent of all plastic packaging is used only once.|

Single-use plastic is banned in several cities and areas of the world now.

The city of Coral Gables where our HQ is located, has already banned the use of single-use plastic bags. We’ve also taken some measures at Elf and will continue to improve as we learn. We welcome your comments and ideas. Thanks for reading!

City of Coral Gables Bans Use of Plastic Bags That End Up in Ocean

The city of Coral Gables, where our main office is located, has banned single-use plastic bags.

That is awesome! Plastic bags unfortunately often end up in the ocean so this measure is definitely helpful and preventative.

Now we would like to see just better recycling options in place everywhere.

Earth Day: What We're Doing at Elf

This Sunday, April 22nd, is Earth Day. Here are some initiatives we are taking at Elf.

Earth Day was first celebrated April 22, 1970. Since that time, a lot has changed in the world.

At Elf, stewardship and the impact that we have on our environment, is important to us, from our founding in 2005. Since our launch in 2007, we have actively made a conscientious effort to limit our consumption of non-renewable materials, lower our carbon footprint, encourage recycling and to use energy-efficient appliances and equipment.

Now in our 11th year since our launch in February 2007, we are going further.

1. Tracking Energy Consumption:

Our studios and working spaces have energy meters and we also use the Energy Star online tool for tracking.

2. Elimination of Plastic Straws, Styrofoam Cups and Plastic Bags:

We do not use plastic straws or plastic bags at any of our locations. This is a conscious effort to reduce our use of plastic, which often ends up unfortunately in the ocean. At our studios and workspaces, we have ceramic mugs for our coffee and tea machines. We also do not use styrofoam in any capacity.

On occasion, we do receive packages that contain either styrofoam or plastic encasing from manufacturers and equipment suppliers. We are working with our suppliers to reduce this. We recycle these materials as best as possible.

The city of Coral Gables, where our main office is located, has banned use of plastic bags. That is awesome! It ends up in the ocean so that is an excellent measure.

3. Reduction in Paper Use

Sometimes, writing things down on paper is essential, but we do our best to minimize paper consumption and use, apart from necessary regulatory or legal documentation. A lot of our communication is done electronically and we encourage ideation and creative brainstorming via whiteboards and shared screens.

4. Our Computer Equipment

Since our founding, we rely upon Apple computers for our design and creative work. We have extended this to our support services, including reception and lobby areas for guests and relaxation spaces. We are excited to see Apple's commitment to the environment growing and truly becoming a leader in the space.

5. Our Buildings

We rent our workspaces and are thankful to collaborate with leading companies that are environmentally conscious. Some of our studios are in LEED-certified buildings and maximize use of natural light. All of them use Energy Star appliances and have processes in place for energy efficiency and recycling.

It is our goal to build out our main campus in a few years that will be powered by renewable energy. In addition, we hope to have a supercharging unit for the electric vehicles at our larger locations.

We are also currently working with a few partners to increase the kinds of products that can be recycled at our different locations.

6. Shared Transportation and Telecommuting

We offer shared transportation options at our offices and workspaces in London, Oslo and Zurich as well as flexible telecommuting options at some locations in the United States. We have partnered previously with a local bicycle company in south Florida to provide free transportation to our team during events and we are considering offering this on a permanent basis as well.

7. Supporting Conservation Organizations

Previously, we have featured leading conservation organizations in our Hayden's magazine. We now aim to actively support organizations through direct donations and a regular percentage of profits annually. We also financially support two organizations who plant trees on a large, global scale.

We aim to do more in the years to come so that we leave a better legacy for future generations. Thanks for reading!