Tag: plastic crisis

• Disclaimer: A product is not reusable just because it can be washed

  A new standard is on the cards: plastic tableware that can be washed more than five times in a dishwasher might be redefined as reusable by European standardisers. Aiming at such short rotation and without a proper reuse system in place, however, these are simply single-use plastic products, which today are banned by the Single-use Plastics Directive. Greenwashing in the making?

• What future for plastic recycling in a circular and toxic-free economy?

  Recycling, and particularly plastics recycling, is not a panacea to our overuse of natural resources. We cannot continue our addiction to plastics and simply recycle our way out of the biodiversity and climate crisis. Having said that, recycling does have an important role to play in closing the loop, once prevention and reuse options - such as refillable packaging - have been exhausted.