The Confederation of Enterprises, CIP, have good webinars on Circular Economy. Good for the environment, saves raw materials, reduces waste and garbage, and innovates. Many other countries have laws to run this, we do not, yet.
A few days ago they talked about packaging. Here people speak. For 30 years Sweden and Germany have been doing it! It is law, 6Rs! RE-think, RE-use, RE-duce, RE-cycle, RE-cuse, RE-order. There, the latter is RE-cluse, i.e, whoever isn't one is arrested!
For decades, Germany has forced plastics makers to mark them or clearly declare their chemical compounds so that they can be re-used or recycled. In Sweden there are no PET bottles since 30 years! There are glass-bottles, containers at the entrance to supermarkets. The customer puts empty bottles in, receives a ticket with its value, this is deducted from the purchase at the cash desk. The truck that brings full bottles, takes the empty ones, then they are washed and reused.
There have been no plastic bags for 25 years. The customer brings his own, in paper or cloth, folded, and fills it at the cashier. There are no plastic bags for fruit or vegetables for 25 years. The customer brings his own, or puts them directly in his bag, then weighs and pays. Aluminum cans? No way! Huge energy cost to recycle. Anyone who doesn't bring his bottle pays €2 for it! Paper, glass jars, all are recycled. But, in the ecopoints there are thirteen, THIRTEEN COLLECTORS. White glass in one, coloured in another. White paper in one, coloured in another. Government refuses to accept an outdated technology imposed by a few transnational companies in the packaging and plastics cartel.
“God gave us two ears to hear both sides. Governments seem to have four ears to cartels and half an ear to science."
We need an advertising tax! Especially on TV, there is a lot of ads for children to make parents buy expendable gags, unsuitable for the environment. Same for cosmetics. They sell for their packaging not for their quality. Here, the cardboard box that holds 12-20 packs placed on the shelves, is recycled, uses energy. There, it is folded for reuse. No energy waste. Here they are now starting to use refills, there it is in use for 25 years. Why? Tax!
Government orders, cartel obeys! This tax must be imposed by civil society. God gave us two ears to hear both sides. Governments seem to have four ears to cartels and half an ear to the thinking and responsible civil society.
