PL MEP Miriam Dalli has called the European strategy for plastics presented by the European Commission earlier this week, "an opportunity to properly address environment protection and industries´ involvement while creating new jobs."
The European strategy on waste plastics is an important step in the right direction, she said in a statement
"All it takes is just a look around us to see the high level of plastic waste we produce, both on land and in particular in our waters. Taking into account the fact that global production of plastics reaches 300 million tonnes per year, the plastics industry employs 1.5 million people across the European Union," the statement continued.
"Awareness amongst our citizens is increasing and we need to act now to reduce plastic waste, both on land and at sea," Miriam Dalli, coordinator of the Socialist group and Democrats in the European Parliament on environmental issues, said. She explained the Mediterranean Sea, like the oceans, is filled with plastic waste which creates environmental problems, as well as health problems.
During the Our Ocean summit, held in Malta last October, stakeholders from 112 countries committed more than € 7 billion to protect the oceans.
"At European level, 74% of citizens are concerned with the impact of plastic on their health, while 87% are concerned over the impact on the environment. The European proposal aims to have, by 2030, the production of plastic that can be recycled or re-used," the statement read.
"We must reduce our dependency on plastic as a product. To do this we must invest more in research and innovation. Only innovation can provide us with plastic that can be used more than once and can be recyclable and recycled," Dalli said.
The Maltese MEP said that this strategy is the result of work undertaken to address the production of plastics and plastic waste.
"We must take the initiative to end the dependency on plastic. We must take the initiative to increase awareness among consumers, to see that everyone does their part to stop the generation of huge amounts of plastics waste which is of detriment to the environment and our health," Dalli concluded.