Farewell to plastic.
Since the signing of the National Pact on Plastic Packaging, the days are numbered for plastic packaging. Manufacturers and distributors have made a commitment and are developing projects that take them in the right direction. Let’s look at Auchan and the bottled water company, Cristaline.
They have come up with the Ecobox. A machine which, in exchange for every empty plastic bottle, issues 1 centime. The system has been installed in 62 Auchan car parks and is a great success. Since 2016, over 16 million bottles have been recovered for recycling and not gone to waste.
Other altruistic actions are also worth a look.
Jogging is good. Plogging is even better.
When Frenchman Nicolas Lemonnier published photos of litter picked up during his runs, he had no idea that he would inspire others! But today his charity Run Eco Team unites over 20,000 members across the world. The project has even developed an app and received support from Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder. The practice, popular in the Nordic countries, now has a Swedish name: plogging. That’s a combination of “ploka upp”, which means to gather up, and the word “jogging”.
Pick up…and record.
To promote awareness to manufacturers and distributors at the top of the chain, some groups go even further. The Indian association, Break Free From Plastic, asks its members to collect plastic litter and then record the nature of the plastic and, if possible, the brand. The aim: compile a list of the most common pollutants found…and the producers’ names. The strategy can be likened to that of “polluter pays” but it also raises awareness on a global scale. So much the better!