The corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine have made many goods in short supply – even those that we normally don’t think much about, usually just tear them away and throw them away carelessly. In the case of PET bottles, we still bring them to the collection point. It also makes sense, as the prices for PET have doubled in the last two years, as the “NZZ am Sonntag” writes.
But that’s not all: the current numerous supply bottlenecks are having an impact on the supply of all types of packaging material. The prices for aluminum, tinplate and various types of plastic have recently risen significantly. That is why the federal government is now examining whether compulsory stocks should be set up for plastic that can be used to produce casings for food.
In order to be able to guarantee security of supply in emergencies, the federal government stipulates that certain products and raw materials should be stored. This applies, for example, to seeds, fuel or certain foods. This national emergency stock is not kept by the federal government itself, but by the individual sectors that manage it on behalf of the federal government.
Migros supports efforts
When it comes to packaging, Switzerland is highly dependent on other countries. So far, the federal government has only stored plastic for the production of bottles for disinfectants. The Federal Office for National Economic Supply confirmed the corresponding information from the «NZZ on Sunday». Polyethylene and polystyrene could now be included in compulsory stocks.
Migros can only agree. “We welcome the efforts to strengthen the Swiss national supply,” it says. It’s no wonder that the wholesaler is interested in this, because the logistics for reusable containers such as glass bottles hardly exist in Switzerland anymore – and would also be a lot more expensive. There is also no circular economy for plastic packaging material. (koh/SDA)
Lack of plastic packaging