European member states on Wednesday pledged to take measures to ban single-use plastics, with Maltese MEPs strongly backing the call.

The proposal, which is designed to prevent and reduce the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, in particular the marine environment, sets a number of different policy measures to tackle these problematic single-use products, ranging from bans and reduction efforts to labelling and extended producer responsibility schemes.

The report voted on in Parliament calls on EU member states to take measures to reduce the consumption of food containers made of plastic and plastic cups for beverages.

It also sets out an ambitious binding target of at least 25 per cent of recycled plastic for Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles is established from 2025 onwards. By 2030, all plastic bottles will need to respect a target of at least 30 per cent recycled content.

Maltese MEPs from both sides of the political spectrum backed the call, saying the policy change would help bring about a more environmentally-friendly mentality.

Every minute a truckload of plastic is ending up in our oceans- Miriam Dalli

"Every minute a truckload of plastic is ending up in our oceans," Labour MEP Miriam Dalli said. If nothing will be done, this figure will double by 2030, she added, calling for a change in mentality.

PN MEP Roberta Metsola also encouraged politicians to support the ban, noting 75 per cent of waste in the ocean was plastic. However, she warned, the EU’s decision would not be enough. "We can have the best laws in the world, but change has to happen on an individual level as well," she said.

PN MEP Francis Zammit Dimech said a culture change was needed to ensure the sea would be enjoyed by future generations.

"Other small islands in the Mediterranean have become or are in the process of becoming free form single-use plastics, case in point islands which are few kilometres from our shores such as Pantelleria and Lampedusa," he said.