According to the draft issued by the European Parliament on April 16, the EU may reduce the use of plastic shopping bags by 80% by 2019.
Members of the European Parliament recommended measures to tax, restrict or ban plastic bags.
The draft aims to reduce the use of plastic bags and waste, especially to meet European mandatory plastics reduction targets, and requires plastic bags to be charged, said Danish European Parliament member Margrete Auken. His report was overwhelmingly voted by 539:51, with 72 abstentions.
"The countries that are at the forefront have proven that significantly reducing the consumption of such disposable plastic bags can be easily achieved through a coherent policy. For the plastic waste problem that is prevalent in the environment, the rapid elimination of these plastic bags is undoubtedly a kind of Easy to implement solution," he said.
Most plastic bags used in the EU are ultra-thin plastic bags with a thickness of less than 50 microns. Compared to thick plastic bags, they are less recyclable and become waste faster.
The proposed plan will be submitted to the European Parliament after the elections next month.
If approved to become legislation, EU member states must halve plastic bag consumption by 2017 and reduce it by 80% by 2017 compared to 2010 levels.