Tag Archives: waste

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.

Westminster debate on unrecyclable packaging

Westminster debate on unrecyclable packaging. A potential ban on unrecyclable packaging has been debated in Westminster by a cross section of MPs.
Westminster debate on unrecyclable packaging

An online petition gained more than 75,000 signatures, triggering a debate by Conservative MP David Mackintosh.

 

Resources minister Therese Coffey delivered the Government’s response, refusing to back a ban on unrecyclable packaging and continuing its stance for a voluntary approach.

 

“It is ultimately for businesses to decide what packaging materials they use to supply products to customers, and for customers to make choices on the products they buy,” she said.

 

Coffey said current packaging regulations incentivised businesses to use less packaging and ensure it can be recycled.

She also repeated Defra’s commitment to meeting the 50% household recycling target by 2020 and said the department expected to introduce the circular economy package into law.

 

The Industry Council for research on Packaging and the Environment (Incpen) earlier voiced its concerns about the Westminster debate.

 

Some of the comments on its social media feed read:

 

“Banning non-recyclable packaging will increase, not reduce waste!”

 

“It might seem anti-intuitive but mixed-material, non-recyclable packaging generates LESS waste than recyclable packaging…”

 

“Why don’t those who call for packaging producers to pay more, ask the newsprint & magazine industry to pay more too?”

 

Conservative MP Mark Pawsey, chairman of the all-party group for the packaging manufacturing industry, said: “A great deal of what is contained in the e-petition is not practical.”

 

He gave the example of food packaging, pointing out it often uses multiple polymer plastic wrapping to protect the product from hazardous material.

 

Pawsey also disputed the benefit of compostable packaging, saying it could end up being a contaminant if incorrectly sent for recycling.

 

And he stressed the importance of retailers using use as little material as possible.

 

“There is absolutely no point in over-packaging, and no point in creating too much or in making the plastic or board out of too thick a gauge – that would add cost unnecessarily.”

 

Martin Kersh, executive director of the Foodservice Packaging Association, welcomed the statement from Coffey and said the debate highlighted the need to ensure MP’s are fully aware of the core requirements of packaging, particularly that packaging is produced to ensure the public can have complete confidence in the safety of its contents, arrives in the household undamaged and reduces food waste.

 

“If they did have this understanding the proposer of the motion would not have made references to such thing as over packaging when Courtauld accepted packaging optimisation is the key requirement. The industry must get these key messages across to all MP’s so they are much better equipped to look at any future petitions and proposals in a more balanced and informed way. The decision by the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee to prevent national bans on specific forms of single use packaging must surely bring into question whether this Petition should proceed.”

 

He added: “I’m pleased the debate took place and it demonstrates MP’s want to see more packaging recycled, so we also need to impress upon them need for investment to ensure our waste management system reflects the way consumers live their lives today.”

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Tesa develops new packs to tackle food waste

Adhesive tapes manufacturer Tesa has developed new flexible packaging, which it claims will help reduce food waste.

Tesa

The Tesa Lift & Reseal pack can be used with a wide range of products and pack sizes, from small, high value snacks to economy budget products.

Peter Spencer, Tesa’s specialist segment manager, manufacturing said, the Lift & Reseal is designed to efficiently close packs more than 20 times, allowing consumers to reseal film-based food packs for the product’s lifetime. The tape strip remains adhesive all the way down as the packaging reduces in size.

It remains effective even if the adhesive face becomes dusty, retaining the freshness of the food items and reducing food wastage, said the company.

Spencer added: “The issue of food waste is obviously not just confined to the UK; European Parliament has established its own targets and the EU Commission has set out a resource efficiency roadmap, which foresees a 50% reduction in food waste, to be achieved by 2025. With our Tesa Lift & Reseal product being fast adopted worldwide, we are hoping that we can play a part in helping to deliver these targets.”

Waste recycling and waste management service ReFood said 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink thrown away every year and the national food industry waste costing an estimated £5bn per year, the UK has topped a poll of the highest waste of food in Europe.

Corrugated is not part of the waste problem, says trade association

Corrugated is not part of the waste problem, says trade association

Corrugated is not part of the waste problem
IT’S a myth that eliminating corrugated packaging will automatically reduce the amount of waste in the food supply chain. Corrugated is not part of the waste problem insists the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI), which is supporting its stance with recycling figures and information on enhanced production processes.
The trade association is hitting back at claims from some quarters that used corrugated is a waste material, when in fact most of it is recycled, and made into new packaging. It actually has a very low impact on the planet thanks to a recycling rate of over 80%.
CPI’s Director of Packaging Affairs, Andy Barnetson, said: “To say that using alternative packaging may result in ‘less corrugated’ misses the point. Corrugated is single trip but has such a high recycling rate that it doesn’t substantially impact on the waste problem.
“Our industry has always invested in recovery and recycling processes. Corrugated is fully recyclable through a closed loop system, so landfilling of corrugated must be viewed as a last resort. Such a versatile, easily recycled product should be recovered wherever possible, in order to make the most of the resources which went into its production.”
The Corrugated Packaging Industry in the UK has been instrumental in driving down waste within the supply chain, even before the Courtauld Commitment was introduced. It is a pioneering force in sustainable, lightweight, recyclable papers that do not compromise the integrity of goods in transit, and ensure that they arrive still in top condition.
In today’s challenging economic climate, it is quite right that supply chains are being scrutinised in an effort to drive down costs and meet environmental objectives. But when developing packaging solutions, many factors must be taken into account including transport efficiency.
With the advent of modern corrugated processes, such as new flutings that offer up to 23% storage space saving, the Corrugated Packaging Industry is offering extremely space-efficient packaging which is leading to better use of pallets, resulting in fewer vehicles on the road.
Boxes need to be designed to fill Lorries from floor to roof. If every single lorry on the road was filled to complete capacity, the savings in fuel costs and CO2 emissions would be huge. Corrugated can adapt itself to product after product. By contrast, alternative packaging options do not have this flexibility and as a result are not as space efficient.
Corrugated may not have all the answers, but it is the most widely used packaging material in the UK and has helped deliver goods to market safely for over a hundred years. It should not be considered as waste but as the safe and sustainable packaging solution that it has always been, insists the CPI.