The motto of this year's World Environment Day is Beat-Plastic-Pollution.

The state of our natural world is deteriorating ever faster as a result of the climate and biodiversity crisis - and these crises are man-made. With various factors such as pesticide use, deforestation and not least the massive problem of plastic pollution, this development is due to our own behavior.
And it is up to us to finally take appropriate countermeasures!

This is why the upcoming revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) is of enormous importance.
Plastic is a part of our daily lives, but we can no longer afford to use and throw away such enormous amounts of it. Microplastics are now not only found in high densities in the oceans, but also in our soil and water and thus end up in our bodies.

We therefore urgently need not only ambitious targets and clear labeling for the recycling of packaging, but also binding targets for waste prevention and the reduction of packaging.
This is the only way we can put an end to the growing mass of packaging waste in Europe.

I am committed to this on behalf of my greens/efa group as shadow rapporteur on the PPWD in the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, which the EU Parliament committee will vote on in July.

We must protect our nature better! And each and every one of us can do our bit.