Amsterdam, December 27 – On December 18th 2018 Frans Timmermans, Chief Commissioner of the EU, was awarded The Plastic Soup Foundation’s ‘Praise for Political Strategy’ . “I consider this an encouragement to keep doing as I’ve been doing in the battle against the nuisance and downright health risks of plastics”, said Timmermans in his acceptance speech. “We must ensure that our oceans are free of plastic and do not continually become clogged full of it. We must also ensure that plastic does not affect our own good health, nor be inundated by plastics in any way.”
The European Union is the first to make a step towards a directive for Single Use Plastic (SUP) which will make certain plastics illegal. In May 2018, at the presentation of his plans, Timmermans emphasized the risks to health: “We are at risk of choking our oceans in plastic, with a knock-on effect on our food chain and human health.”
The EU’s SUP Directive is unique in the world. It should ensure a significant reduction in plastics intended for single use and is a precautionary measure aimed at lowering risk to health.
