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Amsterdam unveils world's first plastic-free supermarket aisle

WION Web Team
Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Feb 28, 2018, 02:37 PM IST
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Representative image. Photograph:(Others)

In a bid to minimise and eventually phase out the use of plasticware from the planet, Amsterdam today unveiled the world's first plastic-free supermarket aisle. 

The aisle offers nearly 700 plastic-free goods to the customers along with an option to buy groceries in compostable bio-materials.

The aisle has been introduced at one of the branches of a Dutch supermarket chain called Ekoplaza. The brand runs over 70 stores across the country and hopes to roll out plastic aisle across all its branches. 

According to a report by the environment watchdog the Worldwatch Institute, "Some 299 million tons of plastics were produced in 2013, representing a 4 percent increase over 2012".

"According to the United Nations Environmental Program, between 22 percent and 43 percent of the plastic used worldwide is disposed of in landfills... Approximately 10–20 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans each year," reads Worldwatch's official website. 

Meanwhile, Taiwan has also decided to phase out single-use of plastic items. The blanket ban will encompass commodities like plastic straws, cups and shopping bags. The country plans to phase out single-use of plastic completely by the year 2030 in a bid to cut pollution. Taiwan already has a recycling programme in plastic and charges citizens for plastic bags.