Plastics industry pushes its hygiene benefits in virus fight
Activists are concerned that moves by countries and firms to reduce reliance on plastic packaging may be delayed
15 March 2020 - 18:02
It took one week after the first US case of Covid-19 with no overseas connection for Starbucks to ban customers from bringing in reusable coffee mugs.
Judith Enck, a former regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, was disappointed. Public health comes first, of course, but as the founder of the grass roots Beyond Plastics project, Enck had her doubts that returning to disposable cups would make anyone safer. Currency, for instance, is a notorious germ carrier. “Will Starbucks now stop accepting cash?” she says...
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