England has permanently banned single-use plastic (with some exceptions)

From October 1st in the United Kingdom it is no longer possible to sell - in shops for example - or use for commercial purposes - such as in bars - specific disposable plastic products.Cutlery, glasses and polystyrene food containers have been banned, as have the sticks to which balloons are attached.The restrictions also concern plates, trays and bowls, but those who offer a takeaway service (with products to take away) can still use containers and wrappers if filled at the point of sale or previously.In other words, Brits will continue to find fruit wrapped in plastic bags, ready meals and pre-packaged salads on supermarket shelves.In any case, the new regulation is a step forward because it expands the one already introduced starting from 2018, when the country imposed the stop the production of cosmetic microspheres, that is, those microplastics contained in personal care products such as bubble baths and toothpastes.And it follows that of 2020, when the Government banned the marketing of straws, cotton swabs and drink mixers.To then introduce, two years later, one £200 fee on every ton of plastic packaging paid by companies that produce or import, over a 12 month period, more than 10 tons of packaging that contain less than 30% recycled plastic,

While on the one hand the executive has repeatedly declared that it wants to eliminate as much plastic waste as possible by 2042, on the other hand, some environmental activists believe what the Government has done so far is still insufficient.The latter could, for example, be applied to plastic products wider restrictions, so as to obtain more organic legislation.«Issuing sporadic and diluted bans over time on only some single-use plastic items is completely inadequate to solve the problem.Instead of this piecemeal approach, the Government must address the issue at the source and implement a serious strategy to reduce the amount of plastic produced,” he commented at the BBC Anna Diski, Greenpeace UK activist.

In fact, single-use packaging is among the major causes of plastic pollution in the United Kingdom.THE data they say that every year the country uses one billion disposable plates and over four billion plastic cutlery, products that can almost never be recycled.Among other things, recycling, however correct, it cannot be the only solution.Its effectiveness is limited, for several reasons.The process that leads to the shredding of plastic is long and complicated, and often gets stuck before reaching the end.Not all types of plastic are suitable for reuse, and those that are, for the most part, after a couple of life cycles – which lower the quality of the material from time to time – become practically unusable.Plastic, in fact, it cannot be recycled infinitely.

Therefore the main road can only be a clear reduction in its circulation and the promotion of sustainable alternatives, which are less harmful.But this will not happen until "companies stop relying on false solutions", as stated in a report published by the organization Surfrider Foundation Europe, which illustrated the five strategies implemented by some of the largest companies in the world with the aim of delay the execution of actions aimed at reducing their use of plastic.

However, a huge commitment falls above all on governments.Italy, for example, has introduced a ban on products such as plates, cutlery, glasses, straws and disposable plastic cotton buds in 2022, but still has to deal with a plastics industry rather rooted in its territory, which employs hundreds of thousands of employees and generates profits every year (2019 data) more than thirty billion euros.And with a Government that has repeatedly, for these reasons, defended the sector.After the new proposal for a regulation on plastic packaging presented by the European Commission - which intends to abolish, among other things, single-use packaging for fruit and vegetables weighing less than 1.5 kilograms - in Italy, for example, contrary voices were raised.Like those of Coldiretti and some politicians, including the League MEP Angelo Ciocca, who spoke at the European Parliament showing a package of salad in the envelope and denouncing the "mistake" of the European Commission:in his opinion, eliminating plastic packaging would have negative repercussions on the national economy.In his speech, not even a shadow of those caused to the health of human beings and the environment.

[by Gloria Ferrari]