France is known for many things, like their navy and white striped tops and berets, inventing the escargot, being bold about women not having to shave, and now being the first country to ban cutlery and plates made of plastic.
That’s right! France has begun taking measures to slowly eliminate those cups, spoons, forks, knives, plates, and food containers made of plastic, except those made of biodegradable or compost-material plastic.
A new law was made as part of the new Energy Transition for Green Growth Act, which also included a ban on plastic bag usage in department and grocery stores. The legislation requires all plastic cutlery and plates to be biodegradable by 2020.
This law is part of their action on climate change, and it’s a follow-up on 2015’s conference held in Paris concerning global warming and recycled economy.
Plastics harm the environment in so many ways as it’s not biodegradable. It turns into smaller particles that can’t be broken down naturally, thus posing threat to animals that don’t know the dangers of their consumption – one of them being death. Ocean wildlife is especially affected by these non-biodegradable, harmful particles.
Every year, gallons of oil are used in the production of this plastic cutlery, plates, bags, and other utensils – something that environmental specialists regard to be a great factor in climate change.
François Hollande, the French president, stated that the ban on plastic utensils is just a small part of a much bigger plan to make the country a global role-model concerning climate change efforts. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will leave a place for new energy models with renewable energy substitutes.
The first step to this revolutionary decision is to ban plastic cutlery usage and distribution in fast-food places, including cups from drink vending machines.
You might be surprised, but some see this movement as something that opposes the EU legislation on the free movement of goods and the rights of manufacturers. One of them in Brussels.
For instance, the secretary-general of the company Pack2Go Europe that’s based in Brussels, Eamonn Bates, stated he will challenge this French law based on EU Commission laws, standing for those in favor of plastic utensils usage in Europe.
On the other hand, those in favor of the ban require even an earlier introduction of the law, possibly by 2017. However, Ségolène Royal, the French Environment Minister, said that this will be at the cost of low-income families who depend on these plastic utensils. So, the law will come into force by 2020.
Our Planet is deteriorating at an enormous rate, so it’s crucial other countries follow France regarding this measure to reduce the causes of climate change. What’s your opinion about it? Should the US ban plastic non-biodegradable utensils, or not?
Via Washington Post | Washington Post
