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Seaside bars pledge to reduce use of plastic
Seaside restaurants and bars on the Belgian coast have pledged to limit their use of plastic straws, utensils and cups this summer in a new initiative announced by Belgium's minister for the North Sea, Philippe De Backer.
Clean-up and awareness campaigns will also be held over the summer season in an attempt to make the Belgian coast a little more friendly to the North Sea.
"Today, it is no longer responsible to use plastic utensils for only a few seconds while this waste will take a century to decompose," De Backer told RTBF.
According to scientists, there are an average of 3,975 identifiable pieces of floating waste per square kilometre in the North Sea, of which 96% is plastic. The worldwide average is 13,000.
Among other measures to reduce marine pollution, last May the European Commission announced a ban on a variety of products containing plastic that have inexpensive alternatives.
Comments
Suggest food stalls use small light cardboard boxes (without lids)/punnets, thin wooden utensils, paper straws and paper cups that can be recycled and not damage the planet.
Years ago take away fish'n'chip stalls and shops sold food wrapped in newspaper, and later in a few sheets of white paper.
Also suggest selling fruit and vegetables in light cardboard packaging which is not so harmful to the environment.
When my grandmother bought fish from the fishmongers it was always wrapped in a few sheets of paper; she also purchased coffee and tea which was wrapped in brown paper and tied with some string; later the paper was used for covering school books, shopping lists, kids toys, storage boxes. In an emergency paper was used for toilet paper or for covering windows (cardboard was used for insulating the windows and in the attic during winter months). Shops should use more paper bags and cardboard. These materials can be recycled without damaging our planet.