Kacper Nosarzewski’s Commentary

Trump announces a 25% tariff on goods imported from the EU. This example illustrates how “weak” and “uninnovative” the Union supposedly is, despite having a trade surplus of billions with the U.S. and offering the highest-quality goods in terms of food and product safety. Let me hint at one of the keys to success: the European approach to product quality regulation, which focuses on quality rather than protecting the interests of dominant players (as is the case in the U.S., for example, in the FDA and USDA’s competencies). And those bottle caps actually serve as a good example of what this is all about.

Meanwhile, bottle caps and plastics, in general, are a highly relevant and pressing issue. Last year, 4CF The Futures Literacy Company supported the UN Environment Programme in preparing for the adoption of a treaty addressing plastic waste. Member states were unable to reach an agreement during the conference in Busan in November 2024, so the process continues, aiming to finalize a solid, binding international agreement this year in Geneva in August.

As part of the preparations for the new conference, I was in Nairobi last week, working on foresight, negotiations, and analysis with the Secretariat for UNEP’s plastic treaty negotiations. I noticed something quite interesting—how few plastic waste items are currently visible in Nairobi and how much things have changed in this regard over the past few years. Why did this happen? A major factor was the nationwide ban on plastic bags, introduced and improved since 2017. As a result, you no longer see piles and rolls of plastic waste in ditches, on trees and bushes, or in empty lots. Moreover, in many places, bringing plastic bottles into natural areas is prohibited. Walking through Karura Forest, which is Nairobi’s equivalent of the Bielany Forest in Warsaw, I envied the cleanliness—something that, unfortunately, cannot be expected in any suburban forest near Warsaw.