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0 pointspllbnk20d ago0 comments

I find it so weird that European regulation targets very specific niches while avoiding generalization.

In order to reduce plastic pollution, they forced manufacturers to make attached bottle caps (terrible idea) but go to the supermarket and there are various fruits and vegetables each unit wrapped in plastic separately.

Now they are targeting phones but I also want my handheld and robot vacuum cleaners, electric toothbrushes, grass cutters, etc to also have batteries that can be removed and replaced without tearing down entire device and even learning soldering in some cases.

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jurgenburgen20d ago

> In order to reduce plastic pollution, they forced manufacturers to make attached bottle caps (terrible idea)

According to research bottle caps are one of the biggest source of beach litter because they float and end up washed up. They are also exceptionally harmful to animals that confuse them for fish and end up consuming them.

I don’t think anyone who is against the bottle caps directive is serious about protecting our environment. It’s a minor change with an outsized impact.

pllbnkOP20d ago

I am definitely not against plastic pollution, but against narrowly targeted regulation. When the regulation is very specific, the workarounds are trivial. One funny example: Lithuania banned alcohol advertisement, so the advertisers started advertising non-alcoholic beer and other drinks under the same brand names; essentially the ads stayed the same with "non-alcoholic" appended to them. It's cynical but legal.

zeafoamrun20d ago

Every airport in Europe has no water filling stations so you have to buy a plastic bottle with the stupid attached bottle cap. So green!

petesergeant20d ago

> has no water filling stations

Wouldn't you just fill it up from ... a tap in the washroom?

dombiscoff20d ago

Depends on the countries water quality. Some countries don't have water good for drinking, and others have poor taste which many are put off by. That being said, many EU airports do have water refill machines. Germanys airports for example..

wickedsight20d ago

While I understand where you're coming from and that this thinking is probably (and somewhat understandably) why there are no water filling stations, I find this incredibly nasty. I don't want to fill my water bottle in a public restroom riddled with bacteria.

And yes, I'm fully aware that a water filling station will probably be just as nasty, but it's the thought that bugs me.

kubb20d ago

I will never get the bottle cap haters. It’s a genuine improvement for me, and at most a minor inconvenience for anyone. Calling that a „terrible” idea makes you wonder what kind of scale you’re using, putting so much weight on something so minor.

edflsafoiewq20d ago

The regulation targets most portable electronics, not just phones.

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