International efforts in reducing plastic waste: the encouraging commitment of the European Union

One of the most significant current discussions in international law concerns the environmental impact of the plastic worldwide. As a matter of fact, this problem is even more complicated in the international framework, due to the lack of cooperation among States and a non-clear policy implemented by International Organizations. For these reasons, the research proposal will firstly analyze the relevant initiative issued by States in solving the plastic problem, analyzing both the political and legal initiative. Successively, it will scrutinize the International Organizations point of view, defining and questioning the relevant efforts of the United Nations. In fact, in the context of International Organizations there has been an increasing interest concerning the plastic topic by the European Union (EU): even though created with a purely economic intent, the EU is internationally recognized for its political and social commitment in solving the main difficulties affecting Member States (MS). Finally, this paper will provide an in-depth examination of the “EU actions on plastic”, essentially regarding the European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy – adopted on January 2018 – and its implementation under the UN auspices concerning the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs. Particular attention will be given to the recent EU Directive 2019/904 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment and the implementation of the abovementioned measure by MS.