Category Archives: Recycling and Biodegradable News

Amazon delivery contained 45ft of packaging paper

Amazon criticised on social media for using up to 45ft of packaging paper to protect a wall calendar.

Amazon delivery contained 45ft of packaging paper

One customer posted images of the over-sized paper packaging; Annie Gelly purchased the £9 Collins A2 calendar online expecting it to arrive in a Jiffy bag or envelope and was shocked to see ‘such a waste’ of paper.

“The calendar arrived last Thursday and it has masses of paper in the box – there were nine lengths of screwed-up brown paper which measured about 45ft in total.

“Amazon always package stuff this way – I’ve had things like this in the past and they’re particularly prone to it – but this really took the biscuit. I think it’s bad for the environment and you would have thought Amazon of all people would be aware of that kind of thing and try to be more careful.”

In another order, the length of paper was 26ft long.

That unnamed customer said: “I know that the paper they use is recycled, but I can’t help but think Amazon are still chopping down the rainforest. It was so excessive – but on the plus side, I won’t need to buy any wrapping paper this Christmas.”

An Amazon spokesperson said: “We continue to pursue multi-year waste reduction initiatives – e-commerce ready packaging and Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging – to promote easy-to-open, 100 percent recyclable packaging and to ship products in their own packages without additional shipping boxes.

“These initiatives have grown to include more than 1.2 million products over time and have eliminated more than 36,000 tons of excess packaging just in 2015. If executed well, our innovations will also help us to reduce prep, packing material and shipping supplies and reduce our operational costs by increasing the use of recycled materials. They will also increase the overall density of the packages we ship – good for transportation savings and less waste for our customers – and reduce the things that get damaged in transit and eliminate wasted packaging.”

A coherent plan needed for on-the-go packaging

Plastic beverage bottles were under the spotlight as MPs continued to quiz industry figures as part of the inquiry into disposable drinks packaging.

A coherent plan needed for on-the-go packaging

The Environmental Audit Committee heard evidence from packaging and retail experts, who defended plastic packaging while also arguing that a coherent strategy for on-the-go packaging was needed.

Barry Turner, director of plastics and flexible packaging at the British Plastics Federation, argued that the sector was taking action to boost recycling rates as well as improving the amount of recycled plastic in bottles. But he argued that the UK’s contribution to plastic pollution was small compared to other countries.

Also giving evidence was Alice Ellison, head of the environment at the British Retail Consortium, who said: “We want to move to a circular economy but why just look at plastic bottles? There is a gap [in recycling] from on-the-go consumption. That needs to be addressed.”

Gavin Partington, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, said that the UK did not have adequate recycling facilities.

He said: “Our sector wants to reuse as much as possible. We want to work with the government to get some consistency. There is consumer confusion on what to recycle and where.”

Ellison added: “The PRN system is not perfect. You currently have a perverse incentive to export waste abroad. That could be removed very quickly. A reformed PRN could have ring-fenced budgets to tackle different things. If the business does this alone then not everyone will come with us. It needs vision and a strategy from government.

Another concern was how the waste policy would be shaped post-Brexit. Turner said that the EU circular economy package had been a major driver for change and that he would not want to see a divergence in riles.

“We rely on Europe for a lot of legislation which has been, by and large, beneficial,” he added.

Turner said that the plastic packaging industry was keen to see improvements in recycling and said that the sector was calling for a more consistent approach to design. He was challenged by the committee’s chair Mary Creagh MP, who asked why unrecyclable films were wrapped around plastic bottles.

“We advocate that they use the right material,” said Turner. “We cannot dictate to a brand what they should do. It’s a commercial decision for them.”

Borough Market to have free drinking water fountains

Borough Market to phase out plastic bottles with free drinking water fountains.

Borough Market to have free drinking water fountains

London’s Borough market has claimed that the introduction of free drinking water fountains is a big step towards the area becoming “plastic free”.

Three water fountains have been placed around the market and each has two streams of water to drink or fill up a bottle. Plans are currently in place to produce Borough Market refillable bottles made from recycled plastic that can be purchased from stalls around the market.

Borough market intends to phase out all sales of single use plastic at the market over the next six months.

Darren Henaghan, managing director of Borough Market, said: “It’s great that people are increasingly aware of the health benefits of keeping hydrated, but we’ve been troubled to see increasing numbers of plastic bottles used every day, which damage the environment and add to litter.

“By using the new Borough Fountains our visitors will be able to refill and refresh without having to buy a plastic bottle each time.  We are proud to take this significant step forward as part of our ongoing commitment to making Borough Market Britain’s greenest place to shop and hope that others will follow suit.”

Green Alliance simple actions to tackle marine litter

Plastic marine litter from the UK could be reduced by nearly two thirds with five simple actions, says think tank Green Alliance.

Green Alliance simple actions to tackle marine litter

In a speech to WWF on 21 July, Environment Secretary Michael Gove promised to tackle marine plastic litter as part of a renewed waste and resources strategy. Green Alliance said Gove’s announcement that microbeads will be banned from rinse-off products later this year is a step forward, but it will tackle less than 1% of the problem. The government’s plastic bag charge also addresses 1% of the plastic that enters the sea.

The think tank said other well-publicised methods, which use buoys to remove litter from the open oceans, only tackle floating debris and so could only remove 2% of the plastic that gets into the sea. This is because most plastic sinks below the ocean surface or is ingested by animals.

According to Green Alliance analysis, the single most effective action would be to stop plastic bottles getting into the sea through a deposit return scheme (DRS). The largest proportion (33%) of plastic litter comes from plastic bottles, and this problem is likely to escalate as global bottle production is forecast to jump by 20 per cent by 2021.

Alongside a deposit return scheme, Green Alliance believes four other actions would reduce the UK’s contribution to plastic pollution in the sea by nearly two thirds in total:

  • enforce Operation Clean Sweep to cut pollution from plastic pellets or ‘nurdles’ used as raw material in industrial processes (9% of plastic pollution); [5]
  • enforce existing maritime waste dumping bans, using techniques similar to those used by Norway to enforce its fish discards ban (11% of plastic pollution); [6]
  • upgrade wastewater treatment plants with sand filters to retain the micro plastic fibres shed from synthetic clothes when they are washed (9% of plastic pollution); [7] and
  • Expand the UK’s ban on microbeads to all products, not just rinse-off products (1% of plastic pollution).

Dustin Benton, acting policy director for Green Alliance said: “It’s depressing to visit a beach that is covered with plastic, and downright scary to learn that the seafood you are eating might be contaminated by plastic pollution. The popularity of the microbeads ban and plastic bag charge shows the public is up for tackling these problems. The government should listen, introduce a bottle deposit scheme, and enforce rules on sources of industrial waste. These simple steps would address two-thirds of the UK’s marine plastic problem.”

There has of course been much opposition to DRS, most recently from the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) and the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) who said their research indicated that a deposit return scheme would negatively impact local shops.

Co-op to make all its own-brand packaging recyclable

Co-op has voted to make 100% of its own-brand packaging recyclable, according to reports.

Co-op to make all its own-brand packaging recyclable

At the Annual General Meeting held last weekend, Co-op members voted overwhelmingly in support of the packaging motion.

Earlier this month the supermarket announced aims to have 80% of all its packaging recyclable by 2020.

Allan Leighton, chair of the Co-op, said: “The commitments we’ve made today to help fight modern slavery, cut packaging waste and back British suppliers are what the Co-op is all about. Working closely with our members, colleagues and communities I am confident that we can continue to champion a better way of doing business.”

Co-op also recently announced it was replacing the polystyrene discs with corrugated cardboard across its entire pizza range, which it said would stop 200 tonnes of polystyrene going to landfill and create almost 450 tonnes of recyclable material annually.