Plastics Ban

Last year the EU agreed on enacting new restrictions on single use plastics items like straws, cutlery, plastic plates, and cotton swabs that are polluting the oceans.  Czechland followed through and is banning specific disposable plastic products.

The Ministry of the Environment estimates that each year about 300 million plastic straws, 20 million plates, 60 million cutlery, 40 million food containers, and 40 million polystyrene cups are sold here.  That's a lot for a relatively small country.

Effective July 2024, beverage containers that have plastic lids and caps will be banned unless they remain attached to the container.

The EU has agreed that by 2025 all plastic bottles have to be made of at least 25% recycled content.  By 2029 that goes up to at least 90%.

The EU generates 25 million tonnes of plastic waste but only about 30% is recycled.

In 2018, before Brexit and leaving the EU, the UK was by far the biggest contributor of discarded straws.

Update October 2022:  The ban went into effect on 1 October.