The irremovable cap is mandatory from today throughout Europe

The European directive is part of the Sup rules

The immovable cap becomes law.From today, across Europe, there is an obligation to trade bottles and drinks with caps attached, which avoids the dispersion of plastic into the environment.The European directive is part of the Sup (Single Use Plastic) rules and also affects milk cartons and fruit juices, while containers holding more than three liters are excluded.The measure was approved in 2019.And it has led to a lot of criticism, with photos of people showing difficulty drinking because they haven't figured out how to keep their finger on the cap.Leaving the cap in the container instead allows you to avoid leaving plastic in the environment:in thirty years twenty million have been recovered.Being made of polymers, if they reach seas and rivers they risk turning into microplastics.

The other rules for products

Republic says that according to the WWF, almost 22 million tons of plastic waste enter marine ecosystems every year.The European Bottled Water Federation in 2018, citing a study they commissioned, argued a possible adverse effect for attached caps.In fact, the producers estimated the use of an additional quantity of plastic of between 50 and 200 thousand tons.Six years later, producers have adapted, also following the push of many industries convinced that this small change can lead to a large positive impact on the environment.And it's not just the caps.In Italy, non-biodegradable cotton buds have been banned from trade since the beginning of 2019.At the beginning of 2018, the requirement for biodegradable and compostable shopping bags to be paid for by customers began.