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Petition for Non-recyclable Packaging Legislation Rejected by UK Government
A cross-party panel of MPs has rejected a petition calling for a ban on all non-recyclable packaging. The petition, which garnered over 83,000 signatures, indicates that 1.5 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste is not recycled each year, instead ending up in landfill or waterways. It also suggests that the UK recycles 64% of all packaging…
UK Government Publishes Recycling Targets for 2020
As part of the Spring Budget 2017, the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has revealed the 2020 recycling targets for all packaging materials. This follows on from the 2016 Spring Budget, in which targets for glass and plastic recycling were announced. These targets are displayed in Table 1 below. No specific targets for 2018 and 2019 have yet…
Global Carrier Bag Interventions
Many countries across the world have been working towards reducing the impact of carrier bags over the past 20 years and these methods have been met with varying success. There are three main strategies that countries have implemented as approaches to try and reduce the volume of carrier bags being used: bag fees at the…
An Evaluation of the Plastic Bag Levy: Part 2
Part One of this blog series evaluating the plastic bag levy in the UK examined the data available through the government website, concluding that one of the stated aims of the policy has been achieved. From this, media sources have praised the levy as removing billions of plastic bags from circulation and as having a…
An Evaluation of The Plastic Bag Levy: Part 1
The introduction of a levy on single-use plastic bags in retailers above a certain size in England in 2015 caused a significant level of media attention. Public reaction to the policy has been broadly positive, and this two-part blog series explores what conclusions we can draw from the evidence available. From the 5th October 2015,…
Carriers Bag Charges Across the UK
When the carrier bag charges came into force across England in late 2015 there was a lot of unease amongst consumers about how this would pan out. However, in other parts of the British Isles, similar legislation had been in place as early as 2002. Since 2002, all countries in the UK have implemented a…
Collective Action on Food Waste Saves £67 Million Over 3 Years
WRAP has announced the results of the Hospitality and Food Service Agreement (HaFSA) which was set up between 2012-2015 to reduce food waste. The final report indicates savings of £67 million across all the UK businesses involved. There were two targets under the HaFSA, which were owned by WRAP and collectively delivered by signatories: Prevention…
Is Cellophane Paper or Plastic? The ecoVeritas Christmas Lunch
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: the ecoVeritas Christmas Lunch. This year, the ecoVeritas team bundled into a taxi for a brief tour of the city of Oxford en route the eagerly awaited meal at the Red Lion pub in the centre of town. Once the starter course was underway, the Secret Santa’s…
Queensland to ban plastic carrier bags by 2018
The state Government in Queensland, Australia, has recently announced plans to introduce a ban on single-use plastic carrier bags by 2018. This announcement follows a pledge from the leader of the opposition Liberal National Party, Tim Nicholls, to introduce such a ban if elected to power in the next state election. Queensland would not be the…
High Street Chains launch Coffee Cup Recycling Schemes
Following on from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s “War on Waste”, both Starbucks and Costa Coffee have announced action against the problem of disposable coffee cup wastage in the UK. The Liberal Democrat party has previously called for a charge on disposable coffee cups in order to reduce the demand for these cups and encourage consumers to invest…