It's the first day of ‘Plastic Free July’, a global movement. We don’t want to be the bearer of bad news but it’s also important to share facts so we can all consciously try to make a difference. Unfortunately single-use plastic usage has increased many fold during the pandemic according to a WSJ report. The world’s reopening from the lockdowns is wrapped in plastic.
Positioned as more hygienic, plastic is entering at places where it was never there or atleast wasn’t as predominant. Bars are serving drinks in plastic cups, supermarkets are wrapping fresh produce in packages, offices are adding plastic coverings to doorknobs and elevators, and businesses are adding plastic screens to keep distance. The ‘open and fresh’ model is getting changed to ‘wrapped and fresh’ for the fear of spreading the virus. It’s providing a great opportunity for the plastic companies to lobby against the plastic ban which was already hard to put in place.
Besides this, the obvious increase of plastic by the increase of protective equipment, masks and gloves, plastic envelopes from online deliveries is also littering the world. The demand for US flexible packaging is forecast to increase by 10% this year compared to 3% last year.
In the month of July, let’s all strive to cut down the single-use plastic from our lives wherever we can!
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