Opinion
As of today, the firmly attached bottle cap is mandatory in the EU. The environmental benefit is questionable, but one thing is certain: the EU has managed to turn a small everyday joy into a source of annoyance and dissatisfaction with Europe.
As of today, the soldered bottle cap is mandatory. In the case of PET and other plastic bottles, the snap ring on the bottle neck must no longer come loose and release the cap. The cap now hangs on a small plastic band. After a transition period of several years, there are no longer any exceptions. The EU is celebrating the cap combination as a measure to curb plastic waste. In fact, the biggest effect is psychological: citizens are annoyed.
Closure decree – clumsy people are out of luck
And that’s no wonder. If you drink your Coke from a glass, as is probably the case in Brussels, the difference is minimal. However, you have to watch carefully when pouring if the waiter doesn’t do it for you. Otherwise the liquid will run over the lid and then all over the table. But the Eurocrats have overlooked the common bottle drinker who gets by without a glass. And he’s annoyed.
Because now the cap is pushing it into the corner of the mouth. With a little practice, you can still manage not to drool. The EU has managed to turn one of the simplest everyday actions into a balancing act. The elderly, children and people with disabilities have simply been forgotten in Brussels, and they will regularly fail at this feat.
Killjoy from Brussels
For everyone else, the EU has pulled off a trick of its own. Whether on a building site, playing sports or on the beach: nothing is better than the first refreshing sip. Or rather: was better. What was once a small everyday joy has become a small EU annoyance in everyday life. Every day – several times. From a PR perspective, the measure is a disaster. People are being turned against the EU every day for no reason. One sip and you automatically think: “Oh no, EU!”
The profit is small. If you don’t use enough environmentally friendly aluminum cans, you can still throw away the nipple closures. It is even more fatal if bottle drinkers switch to glasses. The extra washing will turn the environmental balance into the negative. The hoped-for larger recycling quantities will come at the cost of more material. Most closures are larger, and the additional connecting bar is also made of the plastic that is to be avoided.
Source: Stern
