Every minute, one million plastic bottles are bought around the world. Five trillion single-use bags are used every year. According to experts, plastic production will grow to 500 million tons per year by 2025.

Of all the plastic ever made, only nine percent is recycled, and half of the world's plastic is thrown away immediately after the first use. Fortunately, the situation is beginning to change around the world.

Now there are more and more activists who create accounts on social networks (basically, all important actions take place on Instagram) and talk about the importance of preserving nature there. Such users do not have to buy Instagram followers in order to gain an audience of followers. We recommend that you also look for such people and interact with them.

Use paper bags

In many developed countries, there is a ban on the use and sale of certain disposable tableware in catering. The assortment list of goods required for  qsale in stores should include paper bags.

At the moment, disposable plastic bags and disposable plastic tableware are the types of items in respect of which restrictions on the implementation at the legislative level are introduced most often. Along with legislative measures, a number of countries are improving the waste management system, promoting eco-friendly alternatives, raising awareness, there is public pressure in favor of minimizing plastic waste, and strategies are being developed to voluntarily reduce the use of polymers, which is supported by both states and private business.

Fortunately, in addition to official initiatives, there are many groups of people who create accounts in which they publish their ideas. We recommend that you subscribe to eco-friendly accounts — this way you will get cool friends and they won't have to buy real Instagram followers. Only benefits!

Biopackaging

Special attention in an attempt to reduce the amount of waste is given to alternative types of packaging. Paper-based biodegradable packaging technology is being actively developed. The option of producing biodegradable packaging from a by-product of sugar production from sugar beet and other crops is also being considered. True, these ideas have their skeptics.

For example, experts emphasize that the disposal of biodegradable packaging should not harm the environment, and decomposition should occur under composting conditions, the practice of which is not yet carried out at the state level in our country.

Currently, there is no biodegradability testing methodology, and changing the type of packaging entails changes in expiration dates, as a result of which enterprises can incur significant losses. However, biodegradable packaging also has advantages: given the complex environmental impact at all stages of the life cycle, paper bags lose out to biodegradable plastic bags. Biopolymer bags use 50 percent less minerals.

What can we do?

Often, consumers who have a desire to use as little single-use plastic as possible face refusal from retail chains and retail stores when asked to purchase goods in their own containers. And this is despite the fact that there is no direct ban on the use of clean packaging by the buyer.

Employees of trade, educational institutions, and catering workers must be confident in the risk management system that operates in the organization. This system must function in such a way that at any time it can be proved that the products that were sold were of high quality and that all technological stages of production were observed.