Artist/Maker Colruyt Group
Date Production/Creation
2020
Entry in the museum collection
2020
Place of origin
Belgium
Current location
Museum of Walloon Life - Province of Liège, Belgium
Material
Moulded polypropylene
Dimension
5 × 5.5 × 10 cm.
Inventory Number
Keyword Hygiene Consumption Plastic
Copyright Province of Liège – Museum of Walloon Life
Status In storage
Image Credit Province of Liège – Museum of Walloon Life
Losing our grip? The COVID-19 pandemic sent many of us plastic crazy.
What is this object about, who are the people behind it?
Six million pairs of these shopping trolley handles were produced and distributed free of charge in Colruyt supermarkets in Belgium from June 2020 onwards during the COVID-19 crisis, so that the company’s employees no longer had to keep disinfecting the shopping trolleys each time a new person used them.
What places is this object related to, how European/transnational is it?
The COVID-19 health crisis first started to affect people around the world in 2020. As in other countries, many measures were taken in Belgium to protect people’s health.
Why and how did this object arrive in the museum’s collection?
The Museum of Walloon Life has amassed a vast collection of objects and files relating to COVID-19 so that the impact and consequences of this public health crisis in Wallonia are not forgotten.
What is the relation of this object to waste?
Some industries cashed in on plastic being labelled as hygienic to bring it back it into daily life on a large scale. Examples of this were disposable smocks for hairdressing salons or these detachable handles that enable the user to avoid all direct contact with the trolley while shopping. All these products in plastic now account for a huge source of waste.
