The European Union has agreed to ban single-use plastics by 2021. In the last week of March 2019, European Parliament lawmakers voted 560 to 35 to back the ban. The proposal seeks to halve marine litter by targeting the 10 types of plastic items most commonly found on EU beaches. Plastics account for 85 per cent of ocean pollution, and the most effective way to reduce it is to decrease production and distribution. The European decision follows China's decision in 2018 to stop importing…