Netherlands opens world's first plastic-free supermarket aisle as UK urged to follow example

Authored by independent.co.uk and submitted by madazzahatter
image for Netherlands opens world's first plastic-free supermarket aisle as UK urged to follow example

1/50 28 February 2018 Pedestrians cross the millennium bridge as heavy snowfall hits London on February 27, 2018. A blast of Siberian weather sent temperatures plunging across much of Europe on Tuesday, causing headaches for travellers and leading to several deaths from exposure as snow carpeted palm-lined Mediterranean beaches. AFP/Getty Images

2/50 27 February 2018 Icicles hang from a frozen elephant fountain in Colchester. Freezing weather conditions dubbed the "Beast from the East" has seen snow and sub-zero temperatures hit the UK. Getty Images

3/50 26 February 2018 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn makes a keynote speech as he sets out Labour's position on Brexit, at the National Transport Design Centre in Coventry. Jeremy Corbyn's Brexit speech confirmed that a Labour Government would negotiate full tariff-free access to EU markets for UK business. Getty

4/50 25 February 2018 Victims of the Northern Ireland Troubles come together to take part in the Time for truth march through Belfast city centre against the stalled efforts in dealing with Northern Ireland's legacy issues. Rex

5/50 24 February 2018 Oxford University Boat Club race in preparation for The Cancer Research UK Boat Race 2018, Oxford University Boat Club race Oxford Brookes University in London, England. Getty

6/50 23 February 2018 Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell leaves Barkingside Magistrates Court after being given a £87,170 fine in Barking, England. Mr Chappell, who was in charge of BHS for a year before it went bust, was found guilty of failing to provide information demanded by The Pensions Regulator. Getty

7/50 22 February 2018 Youths chase after the leather ball during the annual 'Fastern Eve Handba' event in Jedburgh's High Street in the Scottish Borders in Jedburgh, Scotland. The annual event, which started in the 1700's, takes place today and involves two teams, the Uppies (residents from the higher part of Jedburgh) and the Doonies (residents from the lower part of Jedburgh) getting the ball to either the top or bottom of the town. The ball which is made of leather, stuffed with straw and decorated with ribbons is thrown into the crowd to begin the game. Getty

8/50 21 February 2018 An anti-Brexit campaign battle bus drives through Westminster in London, England. The crowd-funded coach is to tour the country making 33 stops two years after the Vote Leave campaign drove a similar bus around the UK with the now famous slogan: 'We send the EU £350 million a week let's fund our NHS instead'. Getty

9/50 20 February 2018 Sarah Clarke is introduced as the new Black Rod to the House of Lords. She is the first female Black Rod in the 650-year history of the role and will be known as the Lady Usher of the Black Rod. PA

10/50 19 February 2018 Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson holds a rhinoceros horn as he visits a Metropolitan Police wildlife crime unit facility in London. The Foreign Secretary's visit was to help him learn more about the work they do internationally to tackle the illegal wildlife trade (IWT). AFP/Getty

11/50 18 February 2018 Allison Janney, Daniel Kaluuya and Gary Oldman clutching their BAFTA awards Rex

12/50 17 February 2018 Lizzy Yarnold of Great Britain celebrates after winning the gold medal during the Women's Skeleton on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games Getty

13/50 16 February 2018 Models walk the runway at the Richard Malone show during London Fashion Week Ian Gavan/BFC/Getty

14/50 15 February 2018 Dame Vivienne Westwood walks the runway to model in the #INEOSVTHEPEOPLE catwalk presentation outside fracking giant INEOS’s headquarters in London Getty

15/50 14 February 2018 Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson delivers his speech: Road to Brexit, a United Kingdom, as part of the Government’s road map on Brexit, at the Policy Exchange, London PA

16/50 13 February 2018 England and Durham cricketer Ben Stokes, 26, leaving Bristol Magistrates' Court, where he was told he will face a crown court trial over an altercation outside a nightclub PA

17/50 12 February 2018 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn meets with local party supporters and residents in Penicuik, Midlothian, before speaking at a campaign rally at the town's Miners Welfare Hall PA

18/50 9 February 2018 Volunteers create a heart shaped collection of plastic bottles littering the foreshore of the River Thames at Queenhithe Dock in central London, in an event organised by the #OneLess campaign and Thames21 to draw attention to the impact that single-use plastic water bottles are having on the environment. PA

19/50 8 February 2018 Florist Hank Roling poses with a Vanda orchid during a press preview of the Thai Orchid Festival at Kew Gardens, London Getty

20/50 7 February 2018 A staff member poses behind a moon jellyfish tank during the annual stock-take at London Zoo. AP

21/50 6 February 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May joins female Members of both Houses at the Palace of Westminster, to mark the 100th anniversary of the passing of the Representation of the People Act, which gave certain women over the age of 30 a vote and the right to stand for Parliament. UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA

22/50 5 February 2018 Lauri Love outside the Royal Courts of Justice after a judge ruled against extraditing him to America in a case where he was accused of hacking thousands of US government computers. AP

23/50 4 February 2018 A statue of suffragette Alice Hawkins being unveiled in Market Square, Leicester. Ms Hawkins, a shoe machinist, was jailed five times while leading the Suffragette campaign in the city in the early 20th Century. PA

24/50 3 February 2018 Demonstrators gather on Gover Street in central London ahead of a march towards Downing Street to protest against underfunding and privatisation of the NHS and demand an end to the winter crisis in the health service. Rex

25/50 2 February 2018 Millicent Fawcett by Annie Swynnerton, newly on display at Tate Britain. Fawcett was a leading figure in the suffragist movement and campaigned relentlessly to get the vote for women in this country. The portrait of her is on display at Tate Britain to mark the centenary of the Representation of the People Act, which gave women over 30 the right to vote. Rex

26/50 1 February 2018 British Prime Minister Theresa May and husband Philip May visit the Forbidden City in Beijing during her three-day visit to China. Getty

27/50 31 January 2018 A super moon rises behind blocks of flats in north London. Reuters

28/50 30 January 2018 Members of the Jarl Squad dressed in Viking suits after marching through the streets in Lerwick on the Shetland Isles during the Up Helly Aa Viking Festival. PA

29/50 29 January 2018 Travis Frain (left) and Dan Hett from the Survivors Against Terror Group talk to students at Manchester Enterprise Academy. Frain survived the Westminster attack in March 2017, while Hett’s brother Martin was one of the 22 who died in the Manchester attack in May 2017. PA

30/50 28 January 2018 Members of the English Civil War Society take part in the King's Army Annual March and Parade, in London, as they commemorate the execution of Charles I. The route follows the route taken by Charles I from St James Palace on the Mall to the place of his death at the Banqueting House in Whitehall. PA

31/50 27 January 2018 Will Grigg celebrates scoring Wigan's second goal from the penalty spot during the Emirates FA Cup, fourth round match against West Ham at the DW Stadium. League One Wigan knocked out the Premier League side 2-0. PA

32/50 26 January 2018 US entrepreneur and co-founder of the Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates and Britain's International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt meet vet Andy Hopker and students Vanya Lalljee and Jennifer Hunt during an event to launch the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security at the University of Edinburgh. AFP/Getty

33/50 25 January 2018 President Donald Trump meets with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the World Economic Forum in Davos. AP

34/50 24 January 2018 Alun Wyn Jones of Wales, Guilhem Guirado of France, Dylan Hartley of England, Rory Best of Ireland, John Barclay of Scotland and Sergio Parisse of Italy pose with the trophy during the 6 Nations Launch event at the Hilton in London. Getty

35/50 23 January 2018 Kyle Edmund reacts after winning his men's quarter-final match against Grigor Dimitrov at the Australian Open. He will play sixth seed Marin Cilic in the semi-final. Rex

36/50 22 January 2018 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson next to US Ambassador to Britain Woody Johnson on a visit to the new embassy in London, a discreet move after criticism of US President Donald Trump who refused to inaugurate it. AFP/Getty

37/50 21 January 2018 Women's rights demonstrators hold placards and chant slogans during the Time's Up rally at Richmond Terrace, opposite Downing Street. The Time's Up Women's March marks the one year anniversary of the first Women's March in London and in 2018 it is inspired by the Time's Up movement against sexual abuse. The Time's Up initiative was launched at the start of January 2018 as a response to the #MeToo movement and the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Getty

38/50 20 January 2018 Britain's Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland perform in the pairs ice dance free dance event at the European figure skating championships in Moscow. AP

39/50 19 January 2018 Sheep graze in a field in Thornhill, Scotland. Forecasters have issued a new warning of snow and icy conditions in Southern Scotland with the police advising people to leave work early in affected areas. Getty

40/50 18 January 2018 French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May look up at a military fly past at Sandhurst Military Academy in Camberley. Theresa May is expected to make an announcement as part of the Anglo-France Summit at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where she will discuss Britain's strong and wide-ranging bilateral relationship with President Macron. EPA

41/50 17 January 2018 A jackknifed lorry is recovered on the M74, following motorists spending the night stranded on the motorway in Abington, Scotland. Mountain rescue teams spent the night helping drivers following heavy snowfall in the Dumfries and Galloway region. Getty

42/50 16 January 2018 Carillion, which has a variety of private and public service contracts in Britain and employs 43,000 staff worldwide, announced its immediate liquidation on Monday after the heavily-indebted company failed to secure a last-ditch financial rescue from the government and banks. Carillion held a £335 million contract to build the new Liverpool city hospital, the delivery of which was already delayed by the time the company went into liquidation. AFP

43/50 15 January 2018 Dolores O’Riordan, frontwoman of the iconic Irish grunge-rock band The Cranberries, died suddenly at the age of 46. A spokesperson for O’Riordan said she died “suddenly” in London, where she had travelled for a short recording session. Rex

44/50 14 January 2018 Glen Durrant celebrates with the trophy after victory during day nine of the BDO World Professional Darts Championship 2018 at The Lakeside. PA

45/50 13 January 2018 The Whittlesea Straw Bear festival in Cambridgeshire celebrates the old Fenland plough custom of parading straw bears around the town every January. This Festival happens on the first weekend after Plough Monday. The procession, led by the Straw Bear, has over 250 dancers, musicians and performers. They perform traditional Molly, Morris, Clog and Sword dancing. Rex

46/50 12 January 2018 Workers look at the Madame Tussauds wax figure of US President Donald Trump outside the new US Embassy in Nine Elms, London, after Mr Trump confirmed he will not travel to the UK to open the new building - and hit out at the location of the 1.2 billion dollar (£886 million) project. Writing on Twitter, Trump said he thought the embassy's move from Grosvenor Square in the prestigious Mayfair district of central London to Nine Elms, south of the Thames, was a "bad deal". PA

47/50 11 January 2018 British Prime Minister Theresa May watches birds from inside a bird hide with school children at the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust's (WWT) ahead of a speech to launch the government's environment plan in London. Campaigners on January 11 criticised Theresa May's plan to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within 25 years, calling it a "missed opportunity" that lacked the necessary urgency. The government will extend a charge on plastic bags to all businesses and encourage supermarkets to introduce plastic-free aisles, May said in speech. AFP/Getty

48/50 10 January 2018 Cirque du Soleil 'OVO' dress rehearsal at the Royal Albert Hall. Rex

49/50 8 January 2018 Journalist Carrie Gracie speaks to the media outside the BBC in London after she turned down a £45,000 rise, describing the offer as a "botched solution" to the problem of unequal pay at the BBC. Gracie said she told the corporation she wanted equality, rather than more money, and was determined not to help the organisation "perpetuate a failing pay structure by discriminating against women". PA

col-fancypants on February 28th, 2018 at 15:00 UTC »

What lie? Paper, metal, and wood have always been useful. I still remember thinking plastic bottles for soda was silly when you could have a glass or can, then I stopped seeing glass for a long time at the gas station and stores. I also still think bottled water is silly. I already pay for the tap and drink of it freely. Paper bags and cardboard boxes also seem fine without plastic inside them. If it works for pasta then it can work for cereal.

Memyselfandhi on February 28th, 2018 at 13:05 UTC »

5 years ago I was so pessimistic about the lack of positive steps towards becoming a more sustainable species and thought we'd just carry on until breaking point. It looks like gradually with people more in tune with their planet that big corporations are noticing, and whether they just care about profits or just have good morals I honestly don't care because we need the big boys to change our consumerism

PastelFlamingo150 on February 28th, 2018 at 13:01 UTC »

What about the decades of modern grocery stores before plastic?