Yet this means a waste of resources and CO2 emitted and, often, for packaged foods, less fresh and genuine flavors.

It wasn't always like this

In the 1970s, my family often ordered pizza from the milkman - an outpost of multitasking - in the evening, who served it to us on a ceramic plate of his own. My sisters and I took him home with pizza and he begged us to bring him back the plate. Beers and drinks also included the return of the container. Today it seems inconceivable, yet the direction of international legislation and, in particular, the European one, looks to the reuse of packaging , and of food and beverage containers < / em>, as the best option to reduce the ubiquity of waste pollution on the one hand. The same Italian transposition of Single Plastic Use , the directive to combat single-use plastics in force since 3 July 2019, which provided for the transposition by the various Member States by 3 July 2021, in the course of examination in Brussels, provides strong and significant support for reusable containers. In the wake of this environmental need and the direction of the legislation, many local initiatives have been born to experiment with reusable container circuits. In Great Britain there is Loop with a re-design service for manufacturers. In Austria and Germany Vytal offers reusable containers for bars and restaurants to delivery chains and to various other parties and an app to report the change of hands. In Italy, in Milan, the association Giacimenti Urbani , which I chair, is testing the model reCircle . Born in Switzerland, it has over 1,600 local adherents in the country of origin and start-ups in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Holland and Italy. In Milan, thanks to the support of the Cariplo Call Plastic Challenge 2020 with the project Noplà AGain, reusing is an advantage for everyone , we aim to involve 40 bars and restaurants that make take-away, by equipping them with a kit of containers and glasses re-usable reCircle to be given on bail to customers. The containers and glasses can be returned within the circuit. It is about changing not only people's lifestyle, but also the organization of the supply chain . For this reason, to facilitate synergy, between the various stakeholders on November 23 at h. 5:15 pm on the occasion of the Urban Giacimenti Festival , at Cascina Cuccagna, is presented RiC, Resta in Circolo, a work table for those interested in activating the reusable supply chain - no-pla@giacimentiurbani.eu . The hope is Milan will become the cradle for experimentation with reuse circuits , as is happening in some cities in Germany, such as Berlin, where it is forbidden to use disposable glasses and plates. and throws in bars and restaurants and at events. And in Portugal, in Lisbon, where thanks to the birth of the Portuguese Pact for Plastics , which involves 50 subjects, incentives have been activated in two large supermarket chains to incentivize customers who bring their own containers to buying fresh food. The advantage? Less waste to be disposed of, less CO2 emitted and less costs to be incurred in the long term for disposable . Donatella Pavan, environmental journalist, founder of the Giacimenti Urbani association & nbsp; & nbsp;