171 trillion pieces of plastic trash now clog the world’s oceans
Independent
The Facts
On Monday, Mars chocolate bars' plastic wrappers were switched for recyclable paper packaging at 500 Tesco stores in a limited period UK trial.
The change, which comes as multinational confectionary maker Mars Incorporated is reportedly moving away from single-use plastic wrappers, follows a similar switch from competitor Nestle for their Smarties brand.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The impact of plastic waste on the environment has become a pressing global issue and, as the food industry is a significant contributor to the crisis, it's encouraging to see large corporations take proactive measures to transition from single-use plastics to more environmentally friendly packaging solutions for their confectionery products.
Establishment-critical narrative
Moving away from single-use plastics will neither help protect our oceans nor strike a blow to a huge source of greenhouse emissions, as paper packaging for food products is usually laminated with layers of aluminum or plastic and makes-up around 26% of landfill waste. Mars just signed onto the government agenda, which often offloads the pollution problem onto consumers and away from big polluters.
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