Ljubljana - Slovenia has ranked among EU countries with a good overall score regarding the implementation of an EU directive on reducing the impact of plastic products on the environment, despite not yet fully transposing the directive, said the NGO Ecologists Without Borders.

According to the NGO, a report by the Break Free From Plastic initiative shows most EU countries are showing improvement, although measures and plans regarding plastic pollution are still quite inadequate and flawed.

"To successfully implement the directive in Slovenia, putting in place a deposit-refund scheme for beverage packaging will be crucial if we are to meet the goals on pollution and use of recycled plastic set out in the directive. The deadline the government has set for spring 2023 to work out the details on the matter is approaching fast, and missing it would bring about additional complications and pollution," said Jaka Kranjc from Ecologists Without Borders, who co-authored the report.

Commenting on delays the country has faced in completing the transposition of the EU directive, the NGO noted this was due to lengthy legislative procedures and multiple public consultations. A constitutional appeal against the new environmental protection act further complicated the matter, but this is expected to be resolved by the end of the year.

"It is high time to do so because Slovenia will have to start meeting commitments on extended producer responsibility in 2023, which include raising awareness and bearing costs of cleaning up litter caused by the producer's products," a press release from the NGO reads.

Last year's annual report coincided with the deadline to transpose the harshest measures from the directive, including a ban on selling certain single-use plastic products, and prescribed labelling.

"During that time, a lot of EU countries were lagging behind, including Slovenia, Slovakia, and Spain, countries that in January 2022 received a formal notice over not fully implementing the directive. This was not only due to lack of ambition, but also because at the time the European Commission had not yet prepared certain guidelines on how to correctly implement the directive into Slovenia's legal framework," Ecologists Without Borders noted.

The 2022 report lists nine countries who have achieved a good mark, compared to last year's three. The good trend is mainly due to ambitious goals to cut the consumption of plastic. Meanwhile, countries that have got low markings are dealing with unsatisfactory measures, low ambition, delays or even opposition to the directive, as is the case with Italy.

Most governments have not been clear about the commitments, while producers are left to deal with the task. That is why European NGOs have called on member states and the European Commission to play their part in stopping pollution with single-use plastic products, Ecologists Without Borders said.