Plastic cutlery and food containers, disposable plastic plates, including paper plates with a plastic coating, straws, drink stirrers, balloon handles, earplugs… If you have used the plastic version of any of these products in the last 2 years, you have consumed products that are prohibited by law and are harmful to your health and the environment. The argument that they are offered by retailers is no excuse. Because the choice is yours! Bring your own box, plate, cutlery, reusable cup! Say #Don’tMercyWearYourself!
You can do it from today – 3 July, International No Plastic Bags Day. Symbolic and responsible to you and to your children’s health. Because it’s not the market that dictates consumption, it’s our behaviour and demand that determines what retailers and industry will offer us.
While pollution of the Black Sea and beaches continues to grow, in Bulgaria single-use plastic products continue to be part of our everyday lives – not just bags, but also cups, bottles, cans. The already banned products according to Directive (EC) 2019/904 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment are used in our country on a large scale.
After its introduction in our national legislation in November 2021, there is still no control by the institutions whether it is applied, which makes it meaningless. The excuses for this have until recently been the cow pandemic and the imposition of a duty on pure disposables. Although the pandemic is over, straws, plates and utensils continue to be available in many places despite the ban. The saddest thing is that people themselves accept these disposable packaging without thinking about what happens to them once they are in the basket. In most cases, this waste is landfilled or incinerated because the quality of the plastic is very low and cannot be recycled. If recycling is possible, it is often less economically viable than producing a new product.
On 3 July, we want to focus the attention of the institutions on an absurd case in recent months. Some of the large supermarket chains have complied with the rule that, according to the new directive, plastic food cans must be paid for separately, but at the same time, customers who wish to use their own container are denied this right. There is an urgent need for clarification in the legislation so that the use of cans can be reduced in practice, not on paper.
The issue will be raised during the forum for local authorities and businesses “How to move towards the Zero Waste target”, which will be held on 3 July from 10am to 12pm in the Press Room of the Varna Festival and Congress Centre.
