Biofore Magazine 2020

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packaging, and takeaway of food and beverages. These systems can offer great benefits for the lo- cal economy as they are usually based on short supply chains and can promote green jobs. How- ever, policy support is needed for these systems to become mainstream, as there is currently an unfair market competition with single-use and disposablemodels. 
 Progress reversed? At the same time, as outlined by Zero Waste

Europe’s FAQ on Covid-19 and zero waste, as a result of the pandemic there are a few concerning trends that might reverse the progress that has been made towards encouraging sustainable consumption and production. Some companies are using the pandemic as an excuse to create “wiggle room” for their commitments andhalt attempts topush towards ambitious progress (i.e. reducing their single-use plastic foot- print). Copello underscores that it is absolutely essential that industry not be allowed to use this situation to push for their own agenda and interfere with recent achievements such as the SUP Directive, the EU Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan. There is also the misconception that single-use items somehow guarantee sanitisation, so in many places, customers are not allowed to bring their own reusable cups, bags, containers or utensils. How- ever, single-use plastic and other kinds of packaging can carry germs, and any touching of the packaging has the ability topass germs ononto other surfaces. Therefore, reusables are just as safe as single-use items. While Bring Your Own (BYO) programmes should still be encouraged,

says Copello, it is also important to move towards establishing more effective programmes like third-party operated reuse systems that comply with hygiene and safety measures. Once again, it comes down to creating systems that are in line with the circular economy and that work for both producers and consumers. Policy intervention needed Sustainability needs to be the foundation of decision-making on con- sumption. The circular economy, for example, is a concept that has become even more prominent in recent years and is often seen as a solution to the unsustainable production/consumption cycle. As Mc- Cormick explains, for the circular economy to really take off, changes in policy and regulation are needed to send clear signals to themarket to embrace its processes. In Sweden, for example, the city of Umeå is working with the OECD to explore how tomake the circular economy a reality on the city/regional scale. It is a great example of an innova- tive city taking action.