Implementation of the Single-use Plastics Directive or how to create a legislative hotchpotch

Source: European Commission

Read in the following an article by Katharina Hinse, Environmental Affairs Manager at European Bioplastics (EUBP).  

I thought plastic straws, plastic cutlery, and EPS take-away boxes were banned this summer. So why do I still find them everywhere? Well, as always, it’s complicated: Even though the Directive (EU 2019/904) on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, better known asSingle-Use Plastics Directive, or SUPD, was passed in June 2019 and came into force on 3 July 2021, not all EU Member States have implemented the Directive yet.   

They cannot be blamed for this alone, as there have been significant delays in providing necessary documents on the part of the EU. Article 12 of the SUPD, for example, states that by 2 July 2020, the European Commission should have published