It spills and it's being unscrewed when plastic corks no longer can be screwed off from soda bottles and milk cartons. The new rules cause some frustration – here's the reason they were introduced.
A corked idea, according to the signature "Bosse" who complains on one of the country's opinion pages about spilled milk. In a discussion forum, people complain about the difficulties of drinking from a soda bottle without the cork cutting one's face. And people with rheumatism have testified in the media that the new corks cause problems since old aids no longer fit.
Difficult to screw on or a contributing factor to spills on the jacket? Regardless, the so-called corks have sparked strong reactions as they have been rolled out on the market – as a consequence of the EU's single-use plastic directive.
When the requirements come into force on July 3, all plastic corks and lids must be designed in such a way that they stay on bottles and other containers for drinks throughout their use. This applies to bottles and cartons under three liters but not to corks on drink containers made of glass or metal.
The idea is that the new rules will reduce plastic waste in Europe – among other things, on beaches where corks and caps account for a large part of the trash. Currently, many of them remain in nature without being recycled and end up in the ocean.
The hope is that the plastic corks will not be thrown away as easily in the future when they are stuck in their containers.
Ragnartz emphasizes that consumers are confronted with the first generation of caps and corks that stay stuck.
In 2019, the EU made a decision on a single-use plastic directive with a range of measures for member states to address the negative impact of certain plastic products on the environment. Some single-use plastic products are banned, while others must reduce consumption.
The plastic products regulated are those that occur most frequently in measurements of litter on land and in the sea. The main goal is to reduce waste.
