A good start: Lidl will stop selling single-use plastic items..

[cyprusmax47]

That's what I call a change. Lidl is going the right way and if they can do it, the other supermarkets will follow....AND they will STOP selling it's 0.04 Euro plastic bags from the next year, while others just start charging for their plastic bags. In my opinion a big step in the right direction:

Lidl Cyprus manager: " in the field of packaging in particular, “there are many interesting possibilities that we are currently working on and which can really make a difference.”

Full article in CMail
https://cyprus-mail.com/2018/07/04/lidl ... d-of-2019/

Max

[trevnhil]

So, if they are not going to supply /sell single use plastic bags, I wonder what people will pack their shopping into.
Does this mean that they will only be selling the dearer priced long lasting bags I wonder ?

[cyprusmax47]

Lidl stopped already selling shopping plastic bags at Mallorca in his 27 shops this year and sells instead bags made of bast fibre which one can use many times and charge only 0.50 Euro there. I think in Cyprus they will do the same... perhaps not so cheap as in Spain.

Max

[LouiseCastricum]

Why not simple buy a large shopping bag and take that with you wherever you go. I don't need plastic bags from each and every shop. I have several nice and handy shopping bags in my car. Take one with you into the shop or fill the bag in your car straight from the trolley.

[cyprusmax47]

Why not simple buy a large shopping bag and take that with you wherever you go. I don't need plastic bags from each and every shop. I have several nice and handy shopping bags in my car. Take one with you into the shop or fill the bag in your car straight from the trolley.

You just repeat what I said in a previous post:
by cyprusmax47 » Sun Jul 01, 2018 10:38 am

I never needed a bag when shopping at Lidl's. From the trolley straight into the boot of the car, where a washing basket is waiting to be filled. For the cool and frozen stuff I have a freezer box with cooling elements in the car as well. By the way: the problem with the plastic rubbish is not the few bags one needs to carry things into the car. Much larger concern is that nearly every food is packed and sealed in plastic containers and this is what adds up a lot. Cut meat, cut cheese, water,.... and all the vegis and fruits you buy have to be separated in nylon bags or plastic containers. Every 2 weeks I have to empty two XXL bin liner with plastic stuff to the recycling point, 5 km away and I am a single house hold!!! AND I am not sure what happens with the container contents when they empty them to be transported to....a landfill? recycling plant? exporting to other countries. There should be EU money available to built proper plants near the four cities of Cyprus...

But this topic I think is a much bigger step in the near future, as in the article of CM mentioned...

Max

[mike strand2]

I went into Paps yesterday looking for a pack of paper (disposable) plates. Dozens of plastic ones to choose from & just the one pack of coated paper ones!!

[Devil]

I went into Paps yesterday looking for a pack of paper (disposable) plates. Dozens of plastic ones to choose from & just the one pack of coated paper ones!!

Coated with what? Plastic, of course!

[Kili01]

It will take a while for the idea of avoiding the use of plastic to sink in where shops are concerned as much as with the shoppers who use them...
Years ago we bought a stack of cheap and colourful plastic plates which have been used and washed up afterwards many times. Ideal for picnics and BBQ’s. Probably the way to go.

Dee

[mike strand2]

Of course, yes. But better than the whole plastic they were selling.

[Paul]

Watch this video then you will under stand the size of the problem of plastic today.
https://www.theoceancleanup.com/great-p ... age-patch/

[ApusApus]

Or this link https://www.earthday.org/2018/03/29/fac ... -plastics/!

Largely based on the US but easy enough to make a comparison with other countries like the UK!


Shane

[Reesy]

Lidl selling cherries in plastic punnets yesterday...no loose ones available.

[Dominic]

There's nothing wrong with plastic itself. Loads of toys are made out of it, for instance. The problem is with items that are designed to be throwaway. Plastic garden plates are designed to be washed and reused.

[Devil]

There's nothing wrong with plastic itself.

Which plastic? There is a lot wrong with some plastics.
One of the worst, because of its almost infinite time to destruct, is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, Teflon TM), used for, e.g., non-stick pans, wire insulation, skis, surgery instruments, chemical/pharma plants, spray cans etc. It can be destroyed only in special furnaces. In nature, it would take 1000s of years. Highly toxic fumes at >400°C.
At the other end of the persistence scale, there is polyvinyl acetate (PVA), used widely for adhesives and paints, with a persistence of 25-100 years, exposed to weather.
Polyethylene (PE, Polythene TM) is widely used for containers, bottles and bags etc., characterised by a slightly cloudy appearance. It will break up in sunlight in decades into ever-smaller particles in <100 years. Easily recycled.
Polyethylene teraphthalate (PET), commonly used for transparent drink (etc.) bottles, is normally transparent and is similar to PE. Breaks up easily into microparticles. It is easily recycled into fibres and non-food containers. Drink and food containers must be made from virgin petrochemicals for hygiene reasons.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) Widely used for many applications, including buildings, it is rigid but is commonly flexibilised for cheap applications, including wire insulation, ear-pokers, waterproofs, etc. Breaks down in sunlight in c. 100 years ±50 y but doesn't decompose. Produces highly toxic fumes if burnt.

The trouble is that identifying plastics is difficult, so that they tend to get mixed, making recycling impossible. Other than PET bottles, the best solution is to use all plastics, mixed, as fuel for waste-to-energy power stations, except in Cyprus, of course, where roadside dumping is easier.

[Devil]

Someone's been searching the internet!

If you mean me, wrong! It was all out of my head, from a lifetime of environmental studies before I retired. See chapter 41 'Plastics Waste' in my book.