Local Leaders of Amador Valley Writing by Mia Karlsson The European Union is searching for ways to increase and promote recycling as waste is piling up in ports and landfills after China banned imports of “foreign garbage” or plastic. This is problematic because for years China has been the largest importer of recyclable materials, importing 7.3 million tonnes from the UK, US, and Japan. In light of this, Brussels is launching investigation, spending the equivalent of $430 million US dollars researching plastic production in hopes to modernise it.
Additionally, the former Dutch diplomat told The Guardian (a british daily newspaper): “If we don’t do anything about this, 50 years down the road we will have more plastic than fish in the oceans…” The EU is looking to change drinking straws, coffee cups, lids, and colored bottles that do not degrade by making them degradable or not using them at all. One way they are planning to achieve this is to tax single use plastic items hopefully bringing the use of bags per person from 90 a year to 40 by 2026. Eu regulators now want to ensure that plastic packaging is fully recyclable by creating new standards in quality level Furthermore, the European Commission said it will reduce the demand for bottled water by installing easy access tap water on the streets and give guidance on how to improve the sorting and collecting of recyclable materials to member states. The US could use China’s refusal to accept plastic as an opportunity to change the way we handle trash too. Waste has a huge negative impact on the environment as harmful chemicals and greenhouse gases are released from landfills. Recycling requires much less energy, preserves resources and reduces pollution. If we could completely remove all non-biodegradable items out of our lives it would save wildlife, their habitats, us, and our planet.
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