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As the world becomes even more awash with plastic and the ocean creatures give up their lives to our pollution, at least one country is making an effort to do its part to curtail this human devastation of our world and our home.

Not only is France trialing a three year opt-in system for junk mail, (French residents have always had the ability to opt-out of junk mail)…

…but a whole raft of new laws have been introduced designed to outlaw single-use plastic for plates, utensils, coffee-cups, and single-use plastic bags and wrapping.

As the English language online French website, “The Local” today reported, many new laws are coming into force to curb the single-use of plastic.

They are:

Throwing away non-hazardous waste that can be recycled (eg. plastics, cardboard, green waste) is being gradually prohibited.

Aggressive advertising prohibited outside of sales, in an attempt to cut consumption. In reality France’s laws on sales and discounting are already pretty strict, but this further limits them.

New single-use plastic products are banned, whether they are entirely or just partly composed of plastic. This includes plates and cutlery, straws, stirrers, expanded polystyrene boxes (such as those used for take-aways or at fast food restaurants), lids used for take-away cups, plastic confetti and all objects made of oxo degradable plastic.

Distribution of free plastic bottles in companies or public events is prohibited.

Recycling containers have to be placed in supermarkets to allow customers to dispose of the packaging of their products.

The production and distribution of single-use plastic bags is prohibited.

Drinks served in a reusable cup presented by the customer must be sold at a cheaper price

Large businesses of more than 400 m2 have to provide reusable containers (free or paying)

Bulk retailers have to accept containers brought in by consumers

Distributing promotional gifts in mailboxes is prohibited

A network of drinking water fountains will be created in an attempt to cut the use of plastic bottles

A ban on plastic cups and Q-tips came into effect last year, thanks to a 2016 law on biodiversity, aimed at reducing the amount of plastic waste that ends up in the oceans.

Meanwhile, a ban on plastic wrapping for fruit and vegetables has been postponed for a year due to the pandemic.

From July, all restaurants will have to allow customers to bring their own containers for take-aways and doggy bags.

This is all part of a EU wide campaign to drastically cut the amount of plastic waste going to landfills or into the oceans, or dumped on the shores of other countries by unscrupulous so-called “recyclers.”

Plastic already invades our water supplies. It has been found on the tops of the highest mountains and in the deepest depths of the oceans. It is in our bodies as micro-plastics and no-one as yet can ascertain its long-term effects on our health.

2.5 billion single-use cups discarded every year in the UK alone?

France and the EU countries are making inroads into the problem of plastic waste and it’s time for other nations to follow suit, before it overwhelms us all.

 

 

 

 

If there’s one thing that can be relied on never to change in this somewhat dubious and uncertain world , it’s the arrogant and supercilious attitude of the Christian churches.

While the beauty and artistic merit of the latest embellishment to the Cornish town of Saint Austell is undoubtedly in the eye of the beholder, the reaction to it by the local clergy was predicable.

In a letter signed by seven of their resident Christian reverends to the local council who sponsored the project, it was claimed that the statue was “an offence to  God.”  Perhaps it was the name, “Earth Goddess,” that upset them the most.

According to the Guardian (19 August 2022):

“One of the signatories, Rev Pete Godfrey of the Light and Life Church, said the concern was not the look of the piece but the spiritual significance apparently attached to it. He added: “We see very clearly laid out by God that we are to have no gods but him and we are not to make idols, which is essentially a statue that represents another god.””

The general consensus among the populace of this very conservative part of southern England is that they don’t like the “Earth Goddess” and would prefer it was removed.

Of course, folk said similar things about the “Angel of the North” …

…when it first appeared overlooking the A1 major trunk road near the north of England town of Gateshead. Now, if it was threatened with removal, there’d be a major outcry.

The “Earth Goddess” stands higher than two double-decker buses and is situated in one of the town’s squares. It does seem a little incongruous, but not because it lacks colour or fascination to the beholder. No, around it is some of the worst examples of modern architecture one could hope to see.

Behind the statue sits a grotesque building now occupied by the local “Boots the Chemist.” To the left (as it’s viewed) a tall grey, almost menacing slab of concrete, under which, and somewhat dwarfed by this monumentally diabolical construction, is a shopping arcade.

It’s truly hard to know which of the two camps one could enjoy insulting the most, the band of pitiful clergy with their outdated and medieval doctrine of life, or those with the nerve to call themselves architects, who were responsible for the grotesquely ugly, concrete structures that surround the “Earth Goddess.”

Maybe one day the people of Saint Austell, like the folk of Gateshead with their “Angel”, will wake up and embrace the colour, strangeness, and, yes, amusement even, that the mighty “Earth Goddess” can bring into their lives, if only they’d open their eyes and their hearts.

 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is  dragged out of office still swearing Brexit is working for the UK despite the economy tanking out of control. Liz Truss, who looks likely to succeed him, has her own crackpot ideas how to fix it.  Sunak is too busy with his new oversized swimming pool…

… to be concerned (just one of four homes!)  His new pool, tennis court, and gymnasium is costing £400,000 for his £1,500,000 pad near Northallerton. His economy’s doing very nicely, thank you.

The figures in the chart above speak for themselves. Despite Covid-19, the war in Ukraine, and other external influences, EU countries energy price rises are well below those of the UK.

Average energy prices over the whole EU are only 41% up on this time last year, 2021. Italy is the highest with a rise of 77%, and Germany up a mere 23%. France comes romping home a clear winner with only a 4% increase over the same period, while the UK hardly made the field with a whopping 215% increase.

Brexit is working? For whom? Certainly not the average UK citizen forced to rely on food banks, faced with either freezing or eating this winter.

You may well ask how France has kept prices at such a low level despite the rising cost of electricity and gas? It’s really simple: France holds an 84% stake in the biggest electricity company, EDF, and so was in a position to cap price rises at 4%. The French state owns Engie (Gaz de France) outright so can regulate prices to suit.

According to the English language online news media, “The Local”:

“The French state owns a lot of service and utility companies including the country’s rail provider SNCF, postal service La Poste and France Télévisions. One notable exception is the country’s autoroutes, which are run by private companies, although the government sets limits on toll charges. “

Socialism, a dirty word to the UK Tory Party, but have they done any better with their “free market deregulation” over the last twelve years? French citizens may pay a little more in tax, if they can afford to, than their British counterparts, but they get an awful lot back in return, and if they don’t they’re not slow in causing their government a few headaches.

Brexit is working? You be the judge.