ABSTRACT
The European Union is an international political and economic union comprised of 27 Member States from Europe. Since the 21st century, plastic pollution has reached to a critical point plaguing not only Europe but other continents also facing the massive threats of plastic pollution affecting both civil populations and the environment. The European Union has been attempting to tackle the rising issue of plastic pollution for decades through national and transnational cooperations by setting up appropriate legislation and policies. Several approaches have been taken to pressure existing industries and the public with the intention of promoting a circular economy for plastics and reducing their dependency on products manufactured from plastics. The European Union remains resilient in terms of its economy and infrastructure to lay foundations towards achieving a circular economy for plastics. The European Union has formed new directives and frameworks which apply to single-use plastics, plastic packaging, and micro-plastics, aiming to reduce the environmental impacts of plastics through increasing the current recycling rates while reducing dependency on any waste-management options which can cause negative impacts on the environment and human health such as landfilling. Overall, the European Union has setup targets that have to be fulfilled by each of the Member States by the year 2030 in relation to plastic use and management.
