The welcome union of plastic bottles and caps

What is this new thing with the caps being attached to plastic bottles?

 By Natasa Ioannou

Are tethered caps another way to inconvenience consumers or is there a reason behind this new trend?

Consumers while purchasing certain plastic bottles and other products this past week, came across a surprising change, a lid that is literally attached to the bottle in a perhaps strange and inconvenient way. Many did not comprehend this new trend and are perplexed about why they need to accept this “union” of plastic bottles and caps.

This new deal of “lids attached” is not an unexpected measure, since it is part of the European Single Use Plastics Directive (SUP Directive (EU) 2019/904) that was transposed into national Cypriot law under the Law on Waste (Amendment) Law 22 (48(I)2022) in June 2022.

The law states: From 3 July 2024, single-use plastic products provided […], which have lids and covers made of plastic, may be placed on the market, provided that during their intended use stage the lids and their caps remain attached to the containers (Article 36)

Also, more specifically the “lids attached” measure is applied to: Beverage containers with a capacity of up to three litres, namely containers used for liquids such as beverage bottles, including their caps and lids and composite beverage packaging, including their lids and covers.

Why is this measure in the SUP directive?

According to a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, over eight million metric tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year. This pollution wreaks havoc on marine ecosystems, endangering marine life and impacting human health. Surprisingly, plastic caps and lids constitute a significant portion of this marine pollution.

Plastic caps along with the other 10 single-use plastic products and fishing gear that were banned in the EU through the SUP Directive, account for 70 per cent of marine litter in Europe. The European Commission’s impact assessment ahead of the SUP Directive found that beverage bottles, and their caps and lids, are the most commonly found items polluting Europe’s beaches. These small but highly prevalent items often escape waste management systems, contributing to devastating plastic pollution. Moreover, studies by organisations such as Plastic Oceans International reveal that plastic caps and lids often break down into microplastics, ingested by marine animals, leading to severe health consequences throughout the food chain.

Therefore, attaching the caps to plastic bottles is a solution to the plastic litter on European beaches. This measure will be enacted in July 2024 in all EU countries, for beverage containers up to three litres. This design in plastic bottles is expected to prevent 10 per cent of plastic litter found on European beaches. The analysis of marine litter data from beach clean ups on European beaches will provide more back up on this estimation.

Greenwashing and national effectiveness of the measure

There is misbelief when companies adopt EU measures, even before the adoption and implementation date. Especially, when these companies have been identified as the biggest polluters not only in Europe but worldwide. This is the phenomenon of greenwashing and by simply adopting this attached lid measure, certain companies are trying to convince consumers that they are taking responsibility and promoting environmental sustainability while doing the bare minimum. At the same time, they continue polluting while creating and putting products on the market that are not fully recoverable and recyclable.

Additionally, there is no official confirmation by Green Dot or other companies that they will actually collect, recycle or absorb this new product design. Of course, there is increasing worry that this new design will end up in landfills because there are simply no provisions in place.

Solutions

Friends of the Earth Cyprus as a member of the Zero Waste Alliance Cyprus advocates for the holistic approach of circularity as a key element in all stages of implementing new measures to reduce single-use plastics. If a product is not reused, recovered, refurbished and/or recycled it should not be placed in the market. The consumer should not be burdened with any responsibility, while there is no effective infrastructure of holistic recycling with companies basically implementing basic measures for marketing purposes. It is crucial for companies to effectively understand and take up their responsibility in reducing plastic waste and minimising their impact on the environment, while being accountable for their products throughout their lifecycle.

Finally, it is essential to permanently implement sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics and especially plastic bottles. Reusing and refilling stations are a viable solution that reduce the demand for new plastic production and minimises waste generation. Encouraging individuals to reuse bottles and providing convenient refilling stations can significantly decrease plastic waste. A study published in the Journal of Cleaner Production estimates that reusable bottles can potentially replace 4.4 billion single-use plastic bottles per year in the EU alone. Deposit Return Schemes should also be implemented at the national level. These are also an integral part of SUP Directive and as Cyprus there is a deadline to achieve the separate collection target of 90 per cent. This is an important opportunity to enforce legally binding obligations for reusable or refillable beverage containers.

Natasa Ioannou is an environmental biologist working as a project officer for Friends of the Earth Cyprus and the general secretary of Ecological Movement Cyprus