Source: European Parliament
The requirement of tethered caps and lids stems from Article 6(1) of the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD)[1], a directive which aims to lessen environmental and health impacts caused by unsustainable plastic use.
In line with the Better Regulation rules[2], a comprehensive assessment was done before adopting[3] the SUPD, based on a study conducted by external experts[4].
SUP beverage container caps and lids were among the most littered items on EU beaches, found more than twice as often as the containers.
By combining the tethering requirement with mandatory separate collection targets for SUP beverage bottles, as per Article 9, littering is expected to decrease significantly .
Member States provide data on beach litter via the Marine Strategic Framework Directive[5], which the Joint Research Centre (JRC) analyses for trends.
A recent JRC report[6] shows that marine SUP litter on EU beaches decreased by 40%[7]. As the tethering requirement entered into force less than a year ago, since 3 July 2024 , continuous monitoring is needed first, before scientifically sound assessment of its impact can be conducted. A single study covering a specific region cannot be generalised to conclude that the measure is ineffective at EU scale.
In the study in question[8], it seems that the figures include caps from packaging other than beverage bottles. It also reports a surge of littered balloons, for which the reasons cannot be directly explained.
The Commission will evaluate the SUPD by 3 July 2027, based on available data and evidence to determine if its objectives and measures have been effectively met and implemented across Member States.
- [1] Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, OJ L 155, 12.6.2019, p. 1-19.
- [2] https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-making-process/better-regulation_en.
- [3] Summary of SUPD Impact Assessment: https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/6e9b7f79-da96-4a53-956f-e8f62c9d7fed/library/466e246b-cfa3-4b3e-a3c7-fe78bb53ee0a/details?download=true.
- [4] Supporting study — Assessment of measures to reduce marine litter from single use plastics: https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/6e9b7f79-da96-4a53-956f-e8f62c9d7fed/library/10fe4f5e-45cb-4604-8e8a-247d8d76f1f5/details?download=true.
- [5] https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research-area/environment/oceans-and-seas/eu-marine-strategy-framework-directive_en.
- [6] https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/marine-litter-eu-coastline-down-almost-one-third-2025-02-04_en.
- [7] The amount of marine single-use plastic litter in the EU coastline has dropped by 40% between the baseline period (2015-2016) and the assessment period (2020-2021).
- [8] https://hsr.se/sites/default/files/2025-04/Skraprapporten-2025-digital-uppslag-webb_0.pdf.