Hi Rotterdam, my name is Maxime Pantaleoni, I am 22, born and raised in Luxembourg. I study Asian business with focus on China at the Rotterdam Business School. During a travel in Asia, I experienced the worst plastic wastage that my eyes could ever witness! That trip made me realize that something is going terribly wrong on our planet. So, I developed a deep passion for sustainable practices and waste reduction to find alternative solutions to plastic. When every Saturday I go to the market to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, I realize how much single used plastic bags are being distributed. You easily end up with 10 plastic bags after doing groceries. What do you do with them? Most probably you throw them away as you have already 10 from the last time you went to the market.
That’s the reason why I decided to fight against the single-use plastic bags given on the weekly market. My mission is to make the weekly market a plastic bag free commercial environment. Although there is a long way to go, the first steps are made. Together with the municipality, the sellers on the market and you, the customers, I believe that alternative ways can be found to reduce the amount of plastic bags. The EU is banning single use plastic bags in the near future so, the time is running, and we have to find a solution.
I believe that together we can find the sustainable way to put the plastic bag era to an end.