Hydrte Bottles

  In a bid to stop the pollution of the oceans, the European Parliament voted for a complete ban on a range of single-use plastic on Wednesday. The Model European parliament backed the ban on straws, balloon sticks, plastic plates, plastic cutlery, drink stirrers, and cotton buds. After the European Commission proposed a ban in May, supporters all over Europe came forward to demand approval over the same. The ban is expected to go into effect across the bloc by 2021. The proposal on the ban of plastics won by a solid 571-53 in the parliament. Frédérique Ries, MEP responsible for the bill, said it is “a victory for our oceans, for the environment and for future generations.” List of banned items. The directive has banned some of the most common ocean-polluting plastics. Items whose alternatives are readily available will be completely banned. For example, paper straws and cardboard containers will be used in place of cotton buds and plastic cutlery. Other items whose alternatives do not

Plastic has gone from the greatest invention of the modern era to one of the most challenging materials to manage. Each year, up to 13 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean, the equivalent of one garbage truck of waste every minute. The world has responded with countless intiatives, campaigns and agreements to ban plastic straws and bags; 127 countries have introduced legislation to regulate plastic bags. But here’s the thing: Plastic bags and straws aren’t the ocean’s only pollution problem. Visible p lastic waste  near the surface of the ocean — the kind that makes up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and garners the most attention — makes up just 3% of total plastic in the ocean. Plastic also sinks to the ocean floor, stays suspended in the water column, or gets deposited out of the ocean in remote places, making clean-up difficult. The UN Environment Programme estimated the global damage to marine environments from plastic pollution to be a minimum of $13 billion per year.