Bestway Leads in Plastics Reduction

There has been much activity at Bestway Supermarkets since the Red Sea Governor, General Ahmed Abdullah, banned single use plastics beginning June 1st. The welcome decree is to counter the maleficent impact of plastics on the environment, the beautiful Red Sea and its wildlife. 

We have all seen images of fish, birds or turtles caught in plastic or with ingested plastic or styrofoam in their entrails.

Combating plastics proliferation has been top of the agenda for nature lovers worldwide. That is why, the Red Sea Governor thankfully issued this decree in March of 2019. The Red Sea being the first Governorate in Egypt to do so. 

But then comes the hard part. Implementing the decree and insuring it is respected. It takes only a few recalcitrants to undo the initiative.

Critics will say not enough time was given to prepare, that this ban should have been done gradually, that no alternatives to plastic are available, or that there is no announced enforcement mechanism.

For their part, Bestway are doing their share, as Gouna News discovered on a telephone interview with Mr. Mohamed Hakki, Bestway partner.

Bestway set up a task force that have already identified what needs to be done, what can and cannot be done. They identified that styrofoam is more dangerous than plastic, since styrofoam disintegrates into easily ingestable small particles. These disappear from our sight but make their way into the animal food chain. A plastic bag, on the other hand, while ugly and detrimental to the environment, is still visible and can be retrieved. For this reason, styrofoam trays have been immediately eliminated at Bestway. These had held fruit, vegetables, cheeses or halawa. They have now been replaced with cardboard trays, that decompose faster if discarded (see picture). Some styrofoam may still make their way onto shelves, when suppliers themselves ship in styrofoam containers. As per the Red Sea ruling, only plastic packaging originating in the Red Sea Governorate are covered by the ban. However, Bestway is pressuring suppliers to strip styrofoam from their deliveries.

The task force determined that a substitute for cling wrap film will be harder to find. In the meantime, it will still need to be utilized.

As for plastic bags, these are being removed from checkouts. Replacing them with paper bags (that will need a hand placed underneath when carrying heavy items, to avoid tearing). Bestway is scouring suppliers in Cairo for the most cost efficient paper bag supplier. Paper bags are far from an ideal solution, since Egypt is not a paper producing country. Paper is an imported product, requiring much wood and water, both in short supply in Egypt. 

Another option at checkout will be, to pay up to 2 EGP for a reusable woven plastic/cloth bag.

Interestingly, the Bestway task force located an organic wrapping supplier in Sohag, Egypt. (The owner of this firm commenting that Bestway was the first local retailer to ever make an enquiry into organic packaging). They make décomposable bags of vegetable material, and currently exporting all their output to Europe at €4,000 a ton. This price point makes it too expensive a solution for the local market. 

So there it is, a solution has been found: from June 1st, Bestway will offer paper bags for free at checkout and chargeable reusable woven bags. 

Mr. Hakki is a strong believer in protecting the environment and is doing what it takes to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, and encourages customers to bring along their own reusable bag. 

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