Plastic pollution
More than 300 million tons of plastic per year, 8 of which end up in the oceans: these are the critical numbers that emerge from the latest study conducted by international environmental groups, which offer an increasingly serious and delicate overview of global pollution caused by the accumulation of plastic products. Only 14% of this refuse is recycled (30% in Europe for a grand total of 25 million annual tonnes ).
The EU offensive
This is why the European Union has started an offensive to ensure that all packaging on the market be biodegradable and reusable. This is a project that the EU intends to complete by the year 2030. Hence the green-light for "plastic-free" departments in supermarkets, starting from the Netherlands. The initiative arises from the collaboration of Ekoplaza, a Dutch chain of organic food supermarkets, with the environmental group A PlasticPlanet, long involved in the fight against pollution.
Plastic elimination
The ultimate goal is to remove plastic from all 74 chain stores by the end of 2018. But the one in Amsterdam is only the first in a series of plastic-free points in Europe. Limiting the use of disposable bags and all packaging is the goal of the European Union for the next few years. And even the UK government has promised the complete elimination of all "unnecessary" plastic waste, but with a multi-decade expiration, i.e. by 2042.
