BigMac on china soon? Is the big fast food bang coming? - Advance by the Environment Minister

Too much plastic and one-way packaging are being combated in various ways.

The German Environment Minister brings in new proposals that are important for restaurants, among other things.

• The fight against excess plastic has been declared on many sides for years, but the proportion of

  packaging waste

  in Germany is still high.

• Environment Minister

  Svenja Schulze

  (SPD *) wants to focus more on reusable products and expand the deposit rules.

• But there is more to it than that, say the Greens.

Berlin

- Burger and sandwich packaging, styrofoam trays for pasta and disposable coffee-to-go cups:

often also mean a lot of

.

For many restaurants, this out-of-home service is extremely important, especially at the time of the partial lockdown at the end of this Corona year, in order to be able to earn some money at all.

Since “to-go” is trendy anyway, Federal Environment Minister

(SPD) is still looking for a way to bring the environmental aspect more to the fore.

The fact that

a problem in the world's oceans, in animals and in our daily environment is not new.

Many organizations have been campaigning for less waste and packaging for years.

Among other things, the

enforced that

and

disappear from the market

from mid-2021

.

In the supermarket today there are more paper bags than thick plastic bags like in the past.

Fight against plastic: Schulze wants reusable packaging and expanded deposit requirements

But it remains unattractive in many places: Overcrowded rubbish bins on streets or in parks are not uncommon in 2020, especially in large cities.

And this despite the fact that many

and

now

offer

for coffee and other drinks.

From 2022, Schulze believes that this should be mandatory.

Food also needs to be touched up.

For this reason, providers of to-go meals should also be obliged to

offer

so that the customer can decide for himself - at no extra charge for the reusable product.

In addition, the

to be extended to all single-use plastic bottles and beverage cans, i.e. it also applies to juice, wine or spirits, for example.

But the

provides for

.

If a store has a maximum of three employees and an area of ​​no more than 50 square meters, then it should be enough for customers to fill the products into reusable containers that they have brought with them.

The sale of food on plates or wrapped in aluminum foil is excluded, as is pizzerias that sell pizza in cartons.

Because the goal is primarily to

.

Therefore, good

of plastic

is also

necessary.

For this it should be stipulated that a quarter of new PET bottles must be made of recycled plastic in 2025, said Schulze in the

.

The consumption of packaging in Germany is increasing year after year: According to the Federal Environment Agency, a total of

in

2018

.

Plastic / Ministry of the Environment: Will the law come in this legislative period?

The fact that the

in Germany has to be reformed is linked to an EU directive.

In some cases, however, Schulze's plans go beyond that.

Your State Secretary, Jochen Flasbarth, is "very confident" that the proposal will get through in the coalition with the Union.

According to the plan, the law could come

into force

in the

, but the cabinet and the Bundestag must agree beforehand.

"Obligation to offer reusable to-go packaging in cafes and restaurants is a first step in the right direction - but we also need a reusable quota and a tax on harmful one-way packaging," says @BarbaraHMetz about plans from @ SvenjaSchulze68 https://t.co/ Vw8lmggeuQ

- Deutsche Umwelthilfe (@Umwelthilfe) November 20, 2020

The

calling in the Bundestag to go further.

More reusable is also necessary for food packaging in retail and shipping packaging.

The

(DUH) in turn received praise, but also further demands: "It is a first step in the right direction to oblige fast-food chains and coffee outlets to offer reusable cups and food boxes for to-go groceries." said Vice Federal Manager Barbara Metz.

But a binding

needed

.

“In addition, the negative environmental impact of disposable cups must be felt in the price,” she warned.

The environmental policy spokeswoman for the FDP parliamentary group,

, even described the Federal Minister's initiative as a “farce” and not only criticized the acquisition costs for restaurateurs: “Suddenly the argument of hygiene insecurity with reusable containers no longer counts, what is currently in a pandemic * is extremely questionable. ”Skudelny was convinced that Schulze already knew that the law would no longer be implemented during this legislative period.