“We have to revolutionise our thinking on single-use plastics. In Europe we manged to push through a ban on most plastics, but we need to take that thinking global. We need a universal treaty to end the environmental disaster caused by single-use plastics,” MEP Roberta Metsola said, as she joined calls for a Global Treaty to ban most plastics.

The call for a new treaty was first floated by EPP Lead Candidate Manfred Weber during his visit to Malta a few days ago.

Metsola reiterated that “the damage caused by single-use plastics, is not just Europe’s problem. 90% plastic waste that finds itself in our seas comes from sources outside Europe. As the world did when it came to climate change, we need to come together in the war on plastic and find lasting solutions. We are the first generation of politicians who know the extent of the damage caused and we are already the last generation who can do something about it. We must be ambitious and we must be bold.”

Metsola said “Malta led the world on climate change in 1988 at the United Nations, we can and we should do so again on plastic, let’s make Malta and Gozo the first Mediterranean plastic-free islands but to do that we need to understand that plastic is a global problem that can only be addressed by a global approach”.

Writing on Facebook, the MEP said that “If we do not implement proper incentives and introduce regulations on waste management and recycling, we will be deserting our responsibility and leaving the next generation to pick up the pieces. It is too urgent; it is too important to ignore any longer.

As lawmakers we must have the courage to take the bull by the horns. Our legal framework must be updated and, crucially, it must be enforced. “