Czech Senate approves ban on certain single-use plastic products

The production and sale of disposable plastic cutlery, plates, and straws will be prohibited in the Czech Republic in accordance with the regulations of the European Union. The ban was approved by the Senate and will now be reviewed by the president. Senators also approved a regulation that requires plastic bottles to be made from one-quarter recycled plastic by 2025 and up to 30 percent recycled plastic by 2030.

The ban mainly affects single-use plastic products, which also include drink stirrers, cotton buds, sticks for holding balloons, cups, and food boxes made of expanded polystyrene. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the annual consumption of these plastic products should be reduced by approximately 1.77 billion pieces. 

The wave of inflation continues to sweep through the Czech Republic and is gaining strength. According to July data from the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ), prices rose year on year by 17.5 percent, the fastest growth since 1993. Energy and food account for the largest increase in prices.

Inflation in the Czech Republic has been rampant for more than a year, and analysts and central bankers say that the worst is yet to come. In the fall, the inflation wave should culminate with a value of around 20 percent, business news server Seznam Zprávy writes. In a European comparison, these are some of the highest figures; goods and services are becoming more expensive only in the Baltics.

Only 55 percent of Czechs would return used energy-saving LED fluorescent lamps and wolfram light bulbs to specialized places, and most people are only willing to go to these civic amenity sites if they are in a distance of less than one kilometer from their homes, a survey by the Ekolamp company shows. The company's website offers a comprehensive map of collection points.

Dividends from the energy company ČEZ will once again be used by the state to alleviate the energy crisis, Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura told iRozhlas. He expects the net profit for this year to be between CZK 60 billion and 65 billion. Stanjura ruled out that the government would introduce a sectoral tax for some industries. According to the minister, the government will decide how to get money from the excessive profits of some companies by Sept. 10.

Only about 80 hectares remain to be extinguished in the Bohemian Switzerland National park, where a massive fire broke out 17 days ago. The final flames represent about one-tenth of the original fire-engulfed area, firefighters tweeted. Although the whole southern part of the area has been returned to the park's administration, fire officials say that this won't necessarily mean that people evacuated from the area can return.

Extreme floods that saw some 225,000 people evacuated, mostly from Prague, and total damages of CZK 73 billion in August 2002, were caused by two bouts of extremely strong rainfall, among the strongest reported since the late 1960s, according to an analysis carried out by researchers from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAV) and released Tuesday. This "combined precipitation event" was unique not only in the Czech Republic but also in Central Europe during the observation period, the CAV said.

The ban on certain single-use plastic products will be discussed by the Czech Senate, the upper house of the Czech parliament, on Wednesday. The ban concerns cutlery, plates, straws, cotton earbuds, and polystyrene drinking cups. Environmental organizations and experts say replacements for these products should be made from reusable materials instead of disposable paper or wood neither of which is an ecological solution. According to experts, bioplastics decompose effectively only under certain conditions. 

The real number of people infected with Covid-19 in Czechia is significantly higher than the four million cases registered by the Health Ministry over the two and a half years of the epidemic, Czech experts told ČTK. Scientists also pointed out that earlier infection by the older coronavirus variants means only partial protection against new infection. There are also more people who contracted Covid repeatedly as 28 percent of Monday's new cases were reinfections.

"It is very probable that the remaining 6.6 million people were also infected, albeit untested," immunologist Václav Hořejší, PhD., from the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Charles University in Prague, stated, adding that almost the entire population now has herd immunity. On Monday, the ministry registered 2,958 new Covid cases and another 1,190 repeat infections.

Czech athletes will compete in new national team jerseys at the European Championships next week. The dominant color of their uniforms will be white instead of the current red. The design by Spanish firm Joma represents a return to national colors with white, blue, and red elements. The new uniforms will be worn at the upcoming European Championships in Munich from Aug. 15.