Countdown to the “Super” Bag

In the time it takes to read this report alone, around 400,000 lightweight plastic bags are used in Europe. The European Parliament wants to put an end to this waste with serious consequences for the environment and is asking member states to take steps to eliminate their use in supermarkets and shops through a directive approved a few days ago. The European Parliament, which will be elected on May 25, will have the power to reach an agreement with the different countries with an ambitious goal: to eliminate at least 8 out of every 10 plastic bags currently used within five years.

In fact, in Spain, the current regulations are even more ambitious. In July 2011, the Waste and Contaminated Soil Law was approved as a transposition of a previous European directive. The regulatory text includes a strict calendar that includes a ban on the distribution of these bags in 2018, with the exception of thinner bags used to store meat and fish. From 2015, supermarkets and other establishments must include information warning of their harmful effects on the environment. They will be similar to those on tobacco packaging, with slogans such as “Tobacco bags kill marine mammals”.

According to calculations by the community body, each EU citizen consumes an average of 200 plastic bags per year, totaling around 100 billion. Around 90% are lightweight bags, also known as “T-shirts”, which are least reusable and harmful to the ecosystem. And their lifespan is not as short as their use: it is believed that they do not decompose until around 150 years later, and only 6% are recycled because it is more expensive than producing a new bag.

Every year, 8 billion units end up in the garbage, including the sea, where they form huge islands. “These petroleum-derived plastics are very durable and harmful to the environment. In fact, if we could label healthy fruit and vegetables on the bag we just brought from the supermarket, we would be surprised to see how after a few years its fragments can be found in the stomach of some fish or birds (94% of North Sea birds have plastic residues in their bodies), or the Doñana black stork suffocated after swallowing half a bag that it had used to expand its nest,” says a source from the Spanish representation in the European Union. When degraded, they turn into small, highly toxic petroleum polymers that enter the food chain. Turtles, for example, often confuse them with coveted jellyfish.

Less usage due to charges

Europe wants to put an end to this catastrophe. The review of the 1994 Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive aims to reduce the use of lightweight plastic bags (thickness less than 50 microns or 0.05 mm) by at least 50% by 2017 and by 80% by 2019. The plenary session of the shareholders’ meeting on April 16 approved the proposal with 539 votes in favor, 51 against and 72 abstentions. MEPs are asking member states to ban the free distribution of plastic bags (except very thin ones) and to introduce measures such as fees, taxes on their use or other types of restrictions. From 2019, the switch to recyclable or biodegradable paper bags will have to take place.

According to the European Commission, each Spaniard currently uses an average of 133 plastic bags per year, a figure that is significantly lower if we consider that in 2009 the consumption was around 300 bags per person per year. This decline is not so much due to reasons of ecological awareness as it is due to the fact that the main shopping centres (Carrefour, Eroski, Mercadona) have started charging for bags, which has acted as a deterrent to their use. According to the Plastics Technology Institute Aimplas, if before these measures one bag was consumed for every 5 euros purchased (which would mean 13.5 billion bags per year), a year later consumers demanded one bag for every 15 or 20 euros, a reduction in consumption of 80% on average. Before this, Spain was the largest producer of single-use plastic bags in the European Union.