Why Plastic Bottles Now Have Their Caps Attached
An EU directive was enacted in July, requiring that all single-use bottles have caps that remain attached.
By Randa Lindsey Kachef, Lecturer in Geography, King's College London
You may have bought a drink recently and noticed something odd: the once removable cap is now tethered to the bottle by a small strip of plastic.
This is one of several policies designed to limit the amount of plastic litter – particularly the caps from single-use plastic bottles which are far more likely to find their way into the environment and pose an enormous risk to wildlife.
Manufacturers have included the tether on bottles sold across the European market, including in the UK.
This tiny adjustment is the first effective anti-littering policy that contemporary politics has come up with.
Author's summary: EU directive requires attached caps on single-use bottles.