EU rules out tax on plastic products to reduce waste

EU opts for public awareness campaign on the impacts of plastics on the environment saying a tax would not be sustainable

The EU has ruled out penalties on single-use plastic products, in favour of raising public awareness of the damage consumer plastics are doing to the world's oceans.

Frans Timmermans, vice president of the European commission, said a tax would "not be sustainable", but that changing the way plastic was produced and used could work. "The only sustainable method is to create recyclable plastic and take out microplastics. You can't take out microplastics with a tax. You need to make sure things are reused, and not put in the ocean."