European supermarkets under fire in new research
Large European supermarkets can and should do much more to reduce their plastic usage.
Join the Refill Revolution!
25 June 2021
For the first time ever, it was World Refill Day on Wednesday 16 June. Environmental organisations called for this day to draw attention to the solution to the problem of plastic pollution. Instead of plastic packaging for each individual product, the refill revolution is based on reuse.
Products no longer need to be packaged if sold in bulk and customers can tap what they need and weigh it. All that plastic packaging will become redundant and will not end up in the environment anymore.
The American NGO Upstream published the Reuse wins report on World Refill Day. The organisation listed the advantages of the reuse economy in the report.
SINGLE USE IS OUTRAGEOUS
Upstream’s report deals with food packaging for restaurants and take-aways in the United States. The sector is estimated to produce 20 billion waste items every year. Up to 18 billion of these could be avoided if reusable packaging were used. This would not only radically benefit the environment, but would save billions of dollars for the businesses. The sector spends about 26 billion dollars on single-use packaging such as bags and containers. Local governments would also save a lot of money as far less waste would need to be collected and processed.
REUSE IS ALWAYS MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY
Interestingly, the report compares single-use plastic and various other materials like steel, glass and earthenware. It turns out that reuse is better for the environment in every aspect than the single use of plastic. Of relevance is the number of times that any of the alternatives can be used. The alternative sometimes needs to be used twice to be just as environmentally friendly, and sometimes 122 times, depending on the material. The turning point thus varies according to the material. Given that personal containers can be used and washed hundreds of times, this is always more beneficial to the environment than single-use plastic. Single use is really outrageous.
INCREASING SUPPORT FOR REFILL IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND FRANCE
A survey for World Refill Day shows that four of the five respondents in the United Kingdom think that the British Government should make refill an important element in the policy to reduce plastic pollution. Three of the four respondents want more refill options in shops so that they can reduce their plastic consumption. More than half the respondents think that supermarkets and big brands do too little about introducing refill systems. The British NGO, City to Sea, one of the initiators of World Refill Day, has produced a Refill app that shows where people can shop plastic free.
Earlier this year, French President Macron signed a law (in French) which states that French supermarkets that have a surface area larger than 400 square metres, must dedicate 20% of their surface area to refill systems.
A WAY TO GO FOR DUTCH SUPERMARKETS
Customers in the Netherlands can increasingly bring their own packaging to a growing number of retailers such as bakeries, butchers, greengrocers, eateries and cafeterias. But how long will it take before Dutch supermarkets offer refill?
The refill revolution has started: join it.
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