Europe frames rules to reduce plastic bags use

The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have reached an agreement on the rules to reduce the use of the common and most polluting plastic carrier bags. Following this deal, the environment committee will vote on the proposed rules.
 
Plastic bags have been blamed for polluting the environment, especially aquatic ecosystems. In 2010 there were 200 bags for everyone who lived in the EU, according to an estimate by the European Parliamentary Research Service.
 
According to the new rules, member states could either ban free plastic bags for shoppers by 2018 or else ensure that the average consumption of them does not exceed 90 a year per person by 2019.
 
Under the proposal to be voted on by the environment committee, member states could choose to either ban free plastic bags for shoppers by 2018 or else take measures to make sure that the average consumption of these bags drops to 90 a year for each person by 2019 and to 40 by 2025.
 
The European Commission would be required to evaluate the impact on the environment of oxo-degradable plastic materials, which fragment into small particles, and propose measures accordingly.