Pop-up café uses plastic waste as payment | Springwise

We know we use far more resources per year today than the Earth manages to regenerate. And the warnings of the long-term negative consequences this will have are becoming increasingly clear—not only for the environment, but also for the economy and for social structures. One possible solution is to transition to a circular economy where resources are used over and over again instead of wasted, and where the energy used is renewable. It is estimated that this would not only be beneficial for the environment and resources, but that it could help create 700,000 new jobs in the EU area alone and save the business community 600 billion euros. This would be a win-win situation.

Prior to the emergence of the novel coronavirus outbreak, the recycled plastics industry had been making significant progress in its journey to end plastic waste. It was seeing positive results from high consumer and regulatory pressure on brands worldwide to improve their commitments to sustainability. Private companies, non-profit organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were all campaigning actively to increase consumer awareness of recycling and sustainability across the value chain. The message was finally getting through at a basic level, setting the stage for a fundamental shift in public attitudes. For example, consumers began rejecting single-use plastics such as drinking cups, straws and cutlery when they purchased take-away food; some vendors even offered incentives to customers who brought their own cups.