IKEA also says no to single-use plastics: the famous retailer of furniture and furnishing accessories has announced to withdraw all disposable plastic products by 2020, both on sale and available to customers, for example, in stores refreshment. A historic decision
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IKEA also says no to single-use plastics: the famous retailer of furniture and furnishing accessories has announced to withdraw all disposable plastic products by 2020, both on sale and available to customers, for example, in stores refreshment. A historic decision.
Europe has decided to ban single-use plastics, and in particular a dozen particularly impactful and widely used products, including straws, tableware, cotton buds, drink mixers and balloon sticks. And this by 2019.
IKEA therefore aligns itself but intends to overcome the European obligation with a long-term perspective of total abandonment of non-recyclable products, which inevitably end up in landfills and which constitute marine waste dangerous for aquatic ecosystems, as they are not biodegradable and persistent in the environment. .
In fact, the IKEA ban would not be limited to products included in the "black list" of the European Commission, but would extend to all plastic products that currently "invade" its stores and restaurants.
Furthermore, the initiative is part of a broader program whose promised commitments are:
- Design all IKEA products with the principles of the circular economy, with the aim of using only recycled and potentially recyclable materials by 2030;
- Offer services that make the transport and maintenance of products easier;
- Removal of all single-use plastic products from the IKEA range globally and from restaurants available to customers and collaborators in stores by 2020;
- Extend the food supply globally, with the inclusion of vegetarian / vegan foods and menus by 2030;
- Reduce the impact of products on the climate by 70% per product on average by 2030;
- Achieve zero emission home deliveries by 2025;
- Expand the offering of affordable home PV solutions for 29 markets by 2025.
It is not the first time that IKEA has launched initiatives for sustainability, but the program, written like this, would seem a total revolution that does not involve only the final phase of the product, when it is at the end of its life, but a total rethinking of the economic strategy.
In fact, for products to be recyclable and recycling technologies to be economically viable, they must be designed with recycling in mind. And IKEA seems to have grasped the deeper meaning of the circular economy challenge, too often seen as simple product recycling.
"Becoming truly circular means meeting people's changing lifestyles, extending the life of products and materials and using resources more intelligently - explains Lena Pripp-Kovac, IKEA Sustainability Manager - To make this a reality. we will design all products from the very beginning to be reused, repaired, resold and recycled".
And that the message comes from a giant where, let's face it, throwaway is often daily bread, gives us hope for the future, as long as they are not just words.
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Roberta de carolis
