The EU Is Cracking Down on Plastic. Will Other Countries Follow?

An employee uses a fork lift to move discarded plastic bottles ready for crushing and recycling at the Alternative Waste Solutions factory in the UK.

Photographer: Si Barber/Bloomberg

Tougher EU targets on packaging waste could provide a framework for better global plastics policies.

When UN negotiations over a global agreement on plastic waste convene for a second session this spring, the European Union will bring evidence that it practices what it preaches.

In November, the European Commission proposed sweeping packaging regulations that would require companies selling products in EU countries to make their packaging easier to reuse, recycle or in some cases compost. Takeaway food, hot and cold drinks, wine and other alcohol would have to be provided at least partly in reusable packaging by 2030, and the rules would limit unnecessary empty space in packaging. The EU’s overall goal: to reduce packaging waste by 5% by 2030, compared to 2018 levels, and by 15% by 2040.