Affaldsstrategi hører til i skraldespanden

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a plan to reduce plastic pollution, which will include a ban on single-use plastics as early as 2021. This is laudable: plastics clog drains and cause floods, litter nature and kill animals and birds.

Of course, plastic also makes our lives better in a myriad of ways. In just four decades, plastic packaging has become ubiquitous because it keeps everything from cereals to juice fresher and reduces transportation losses, while one-use plastics in the medical sector have made syringes, pill bottles and diagnostic equipment safer.

When the COVID pandemic hit, the whole world urgently needed to buy protective gear, oxygen and ventilators. The countries that moved fastest and made the best spending decisions had electronic procurement systems in place. These systems not only help in a crisis but are crucial for reducing corruption and saving governments billions of dollars.

Miljøministeriet har opfordret alle danskere til at komme med ”ideer til en ny strategi om at forebygge affald” og har i den forbindelse lanceret websitet http://forebygaffald.dk/. Det lykkedes at indsamle 239 ideer inden deadline d. 1. maj kl. 10.00 og nu venter vi spændt på resultatet.