Packaging

The announcement this morning (28 March) of plans to introduce a deposit return scheme for drinks containers in England has been hailed as a victory by plastics pollution campaigners, though many within the waste and resources industry have called for caution regarding implementation.

The Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP) has gained three new members representing the retail, glass and waste management sectors, including SUEZ UK’s Technical Director Stuart Hayward-Higham.

Shops and businesses across London have signed up to take part in a trial scheme that offers free tap water ‘refills’ to members of the public as part of the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s efforts to tackle single-use plastic waste.

The River Tame, which flows through the Greater Manchester area was found by geographers at the University of Manchester to have a microplastics concentration of 517,000 particles per square metre. 

The government has offered “warm words” but “no real action” today (9 March) in response to the report by the Environmental Audit Committee on disposable coffee cup waste, according to the committee’s Chair Mary Creagh. 

China has announced the launch of a new customs crackdown on the smuggling of foreign waste, entitled ‘Blue Sky 2018’, which will run from March to December 2018.

The UK’s leading tea brand PG Tips is switching to fully biodegradable tea bags in a bid to reduce plastic pollution, it was announced on Wednesday (28 February).

A five pence charge for disposable cups will be trialled by Starbucks, in partnership with environmental behaviour change charity Hubbub, in 35 stores across London.

As China’s import restrictions see levels of waste plastic rise in the UK, Keith Freegard, Director of Axion Polymers, argues that low-grade materials should be landfilled rather than burnt for energy.