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The problem of single-use plastic

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has reached the headlines
everywhere in the world in 2018.

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We have all seen these campaigns
and images from WWF.

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We have all experienced
open-air landfills of plastic.

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Plastic packaging poses
environmental issues and health concerns

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that need to be addressed.

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NGOs part of Break Free From Plastic
have identified who to blame.

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These corporations pass on the blame.

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They claim to have always
supported recycling

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and that lack of education
is the problem.

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I think we are all to blame
for our single-use plastic addiction.

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Brands are offering what consumers want:

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more convenience, cheaper prices,

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no bother of future consequences.

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Pushed by all this sudden attention,

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the plastic industry is coming up
with its alternative.

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First, let's recycle more.

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Do you think that your plastic package
that you put in the right bin

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will be recycled?

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I'm so sorry to tell you that,
unlike glass, metals, or paper,

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just 5% of plastic has a second life,

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that is to say, is recycled
to make another usable material,

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and even a smaller percentage
to actually remake a plastic package

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in a closed loop.

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The reason?

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Plastic is not easy to recycle,

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and it is not economically viable,

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because plastic is very cheap.

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The only package that has some potential
to become another bottle

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is this type of transparent PET.

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Today, they claim it can contain
50% recycled material,

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and they target 100% by 2025.

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Okay?

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Great.

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But what took so long
for this industry to start moving?

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And who will pay
the extra cost of the bottle?

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The plastic industry is also coming up
with another great idea:

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Let's make plastic
bio-sourced and compostable.

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They're offering
this type of dish and cup.

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When you read the small
print of this dish,

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you find out it's 94% cellulose

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and 6% mysterious plastic components.

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This cup is made of a plastic
called PLA, out of corn starch.

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You think, "Great idea.

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I can throw away my packaging
with the rest of my biowaste."

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Watch out.

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This is only viable
for industrial compost.

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It will not decompose
in your garden compost or in the landfill.

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"Well," you think,

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"at least this package,
put in the right bin,

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will be recycled or composted."

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Watch out.

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PLA contaminates
the plastic recycling system,

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and recyclers absolutely do not want
to see it among other types of plastic.

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Okay, at least this plastic
is not made of fossil fuel.

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Watch out again.

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Many environmental organizations
consider this as worse.

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If we need agricultural
resources for packaging,

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this is only going
to accelerate deforestation.

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So you get the point.

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This is not such a good idea
at this time, and for containers.

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Maybe in the future.

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And for bags and films,
compostable plastic is a viable option.

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Whatever the current limits,
all innovations are welcome.

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Waste management
refers to the three "Rs":

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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

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Because plastic is a powerful industry,

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and recycling a booming
business opportunity,

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a lot of private and public money
is put into developing recycling.

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The two other "Rs" of waste management,

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Reduce and Reuse,

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attract far less attention and money.

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So let's explore reduce.

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There are many great
initiatives to talk about.

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I just selected three for tonight.

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The city of Capannori, in Tuscany,
pioneered 20 years ago

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a large education program
for its citizens to reduce their waste,

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with amazing results:

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38% less waste in just 10 years

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and recycling over 80% of it.

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Inspired by this success,

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hundreds of cities
in the world are following.

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Another good example of reduce:

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Biocoop, the largest
bio food chain in France,

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decided in 2016
to stop selling bottled water

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because it is, and I quote,
"an ecological aberration."

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They rightly consider that in France,
water from the tap is safe enough

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or easy to filter.

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Biocoop pushes further
and very recently announced

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that they will open the first
zero-waste supermarket in Paris.

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Some activists are even ready to fight.

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They launch "plastic attacks,"

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leaving all unnecessary packaging
in the supermarkets,

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raising awareness among shoppers,

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and pushing stores
and suppliers towards reduce.

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Reduce is by definition almost free,
so do your own little plastic attacks.

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Choose the least packaged products.

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Buy big capacities,

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non-single-serve units
of yogurt, for instance.

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Choose the slightly damaged box of pasta
that most consumers won't take.

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Our obsession with zero defects
and single-serve

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also has a huge environmental impact.

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Now, Reuse,

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a real step towards a circular economy.

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When I talk about reusable packaging,
mainly returnable glass bottles,

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everybody remembers using them
and how great it was,

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from the elders who remember the milkman

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to the travelers who have seen countries

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that still reuse glass bottles
on a big scale.

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Also, new initiatives are on their way -

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supermarkets with plastic-free aisles:

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Loop, the first online supermarket
with exclusively returnable packaging.

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And yes, it's a start,

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only in a few places,

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and we have to be careful;

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packaging reuse only makes sense
in a local circular economy scheme.

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But even with imperfections
at the beginning,

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we need to support these innovations.

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Very recently, the city
of Berkeley in California -

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another nice campus -

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voted a ban on all disposable
food and beverage containers.

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Very clearly, this is the end
of the disposable cup,

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replaced by a glass
and a stainless-steel straw.

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Your Big Mac will come
on a reusable plate.

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And yes, even McDonald's spoke
in support of the Berkeley initiative.

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During this eight-minute talk,

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over eight million bottles of plastic
have been used in the world.

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85% of them will not be collected
and will take 400 years to disappear.

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We must put the right balance
between the three Rs.

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Recycling of plastic
has clear limitations.

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Reduce and reuse are
far more promising solutions.

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Governments need to regulate plastic.

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The WWF has recently published
a series of recommendations,

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in particular, that plastic prices
must include the real cost

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for the society to manage its end of life.

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And this true price of plastic
is very important

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if we want other options to emerge.

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As consumers,

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we all need to be ready
to trade off some convenience and price

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for our health and our environment.

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Are you ready?

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(Cheering)

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Thank you.

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(Applause)