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France to Ban Plastic Dishes by 2020, Decision Stirs Controversy

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France just passed a law against plastic cups, cutlery, and plates. By 2020, the Energy Transition for Green Growth will go into effect and said plastics will start phasing out.

Should it be illegal to negatively impact climate change? Or should it be legal to sell harmful goods despite the detrimental environmental impact? Either way, French President Francois Hollande doesn’t care, he just wanted to generate more popularity for himself and paint a picture of a passionate, environmentally-aware president.

The ban on plastics is not only a bold move, but one that generates supporters and opponents. While many environmentalists support the ban, packaging organizations such as Pack2Go Europe are furious about the societal and environmental implications of using bio-based materials.   

The Pack2Go secretary general Eamonn Bates commented, “[The ban will] be understood by consumers to mean that it is OK to leave this packaging behind in the countryside after use because it’s easily bio-degradable in nature. That’s nonsense! It may even make the litter problem worse.”

Bates appears to believe that there is no environmental evidence in support of biologically-sourced materials over plastics. Well, he’s certainly wrong on that. But he is right in thinking that if individuals mistake biodegradable materials often labeled as biodegradable polymers (BDPs) as materials that can quite literally be thrown onto the ground, there’s going to be a problem.

Some biodegradable materials can be composted under controlled conditions to yield carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass at an approved rate. These materials are made to be completely used up by microorganisms in order to achieve a healthy yield of carbon dioxide compatible with the carbon cycle instead of generating extra carbon dioxide that will harm the environment.

With France moving towards bio-based biodegradables, hopefully other countries will follow to cut down on landfill waste.

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5 COMMENTS

  1. Wow what a load of hoowee. People really need to think about what they are doing and saying in the climate change debate, they are painting them selves into a corner. You see people are ( according to the human caused climate change claimers) the problem! If you follow this line of thinking ultimately you will be justifying the elimination of all activities that have a negative impact on climate. Well sorry to inform you but that’s you! All human activity generates carbon ( the main cause of climate change) . So unless you are advocating the starting of wars and eliminating of certain polluting populations I suggest you adapt. The climate has always been changing and always will, to pretend you have the power to hold the status que or reverse climate change is just arrogant. Sure clean up your act but do it because that’s what you need to do not because of climate change. So with the above being said and civilized people not willing to “kill” in the name of climate change what the hell is this all about? It’s about money and power and regulatory controll of all the people in the name of environmental protection. All of your “GOD” given rights will fall second to protecting the environment. People will be put on short rope where carbon producing activities will be strictly controlled by the powers that be, and since people are the main cause, population controls will be first, and then it will snowball from there. People who advocate human caused climate change are looking for a payday thinking they will be somehow immune to the regulations and fines and taxes etc,. Sorry we are all in the same boat.

    • Yes we are all in the same boat, and because of that everyone should give up some of their luxury. My carbon footprint is 6,57 tonns per year, avarage in my country is 19, and europe is 11 so I have given up a lot. But I dont expect to get payed for my sacrifice, only thing I want is that people start thinking about other people living on this planet, other animals and nature in it self. But if we don`t get our fucking heads out of our asses that will not happen any time soon, stop thinking that we have been given this earth to rape it as we please by a god that does not excist, stop worrying about terrorism and other stupid things that is a very small chance happening to you. We already know that global warming is happening and will get worse so lets get together and try to change the worst outcome, we are already to late to stop it, but we can do a lot so that it will not get super crazy and expensive if we start using money now, not tommorrow but right now. We have to build up green sustainable industries that can give us green energy, and we have to stop eating meat, or at least change your eating habbits a lot since meat is one of the worst environmental damagers out there. And that is not carbon but methane, and as we know methane is much more dangerous to global warming than carbon is, that is why we don`t want the ice to melt in the arctic since there is lots and lots of methane under the ice. And just to correct you, the only thing standing in the way for saving the planet is money, you don`t earn money to make the earth green, not right now anyway. Right now it is the love of money and oil that stands in the way for progression into a green industry and a sustainable green world. And yes you are correct in that the climate will always change, no one is saying it won`t, that is something you deniers to seem to get. We say that climate change is real and have always been real, but then you have the manmade climate change on top of the natural climate change, and its then every thing gets fucked up, do you understand or do I have to send 10 000 links to places that say the same thing?

      • Every thing you said proves my point. How do you know there is man made climate change? Someone told you right? I’m not a denier of anything and I’m not a blind follower of unverified hype either. I’m simply pointing out the danger in the line of thought. Because in every movement there are those who take it to the extreme. The reason I’m not convinced is for the simple fact that the math does not add up. There is plenty of information out there that states the carbon levels that are being produced. That is one figure in the equation. Other figures would have to include the natural carbon cycle figures, how much is produced naturally, how much is sequestered naturally. How much of mans production can be absorbed naturally by the system and the most important figure how much of mans production is off set by man sequester of carbon. I’m sorry but the math just does not exist and what math and figures do exist does not point to man made climate change. I do not have to link to any sites I can do my own research and find the figures for myself. The figure you must find for yourself is how much carbon is sequestered by mans activity. Inorder to find this figure you must know all the things that lock carbon out of the carbon cycle on a permanent basis, temporary basis etc, this will let you know how and when these items re-enter the natural carbon cycle. You will not find these figures posted anywhere you must find them for your self. The article concerning the foam plates is a good example. The plates and dishes are sequestered carbon. How long will it take that plate to decompose and re-enter the carbon cycle? Its an interesting study for those who really want to know the truth. Now if you follow this line of thought you will discover for yourself that there is billions of tons of carbon based materials that are removed from the carbon cycle everyday they are locked away. So you must know the facts before you destroy yourself based upon a belief. Now if you persist in believing in something with out proof and facts you are the same as those who believe in GOD you simply worship a different one. People choose to believe what they want that is their right. No one can make that decision for anyone else. I choose to understand based upon facts and logic and not what others want me to believe. I feel sorry for those who believe that mankind is some how outside the natural order of things. I could take your response item by item and rebuke each item with facts but why would I? Your response is based upon what you believe, it is what you have faith in. I have no need to attack your faith.

        • So you need hard facts about climate change, hard facts that 97% of climate change scintists can give you, but you don`t need hard facts about god? That`s a bit hypocritical don`t you think? But no, at first no one told me about climate change and that it was man made, as a child I just understood this by myself, and this was many years before the most people started to talk about it. I guess people talked about it in the 80s as well when I was a child but not in my language so I could not have gotten it from the news. I just think that its quite logical, I guess I see the math being there and always have been there, something you don`t do. We pump up poison that kills our own kind, the forests around us and the oceans as well, so why don`t this pollution destroy our climate? We have found gasses that we have forbidden because it destroys the ozon layer above us, so why don`t the pollution do anything of harm to the climate? But if you have not seen any math models of this you should probably visit a company called NASA, I think they are well known to most, they have what you are looking for, but I guess they are not a good enough source for you? Another one worth checking out is Paul Beckwith, professor at University of Ottowa and a personal friend of myself, he also have plenty of math models and other models to give you. So I guess you are a person that lives life as you don`t care about other people and the nature around us, you eat your meat and lots of it, use as much water as possible, use your car to drive 100 meters, and gets 7-8 children just to be an asshole, since you think its nothing wrong with the climate, its just a natural cycle we can do nothing about. People like you make me sick, you think you know more than all the experts in the field and you can`t see the facts that are kicking you in the groin. Wake up man, and feel the global warming, don`t be the frog, jump out of the boiling pot before its too late

          • I’m sorry that you feel you have to insult and denigrate me in order to discuss a topic. This is a typical response when people find their position has no real foundation. You appear to be without reason, and without the ability to reason there is no need for discussion.

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