(
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55799191), (
https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/conferences/glasgow-climate-change-conference)
(
https://www.bpf.co.uk/topics/Standards_for_compostability.aspx)
The time is now
The time has come to tackle climate change, says Cromwell Polythene’s Managing Director, James Lee.
The government recently decided to postpone its long- awaited Environment Bill, with focus on COVID-19 meaning it had too little time to scrutinise the details properly in the current parliamentary session.
The bill will bring environmental protections and recovery into UK law. Although it is right that emphasis is given to combatting the pandemic, delaying the legislation will make it harder for the government to hit targets to reduce waste, improve air and water quality, and tackle the pressing issue of climate change.
This is the third time that the bill has been deferred, since work on it began in July 2018. The further delay of at least six months means it may only just pass through parliament ahead of the UK’s hosting of the Cop26 UN climate conference, re-scheduled to take place in Glasgow in November.
To combat climate change, we need to act now. The United Nations highlights that, without drastic action today, adapting to its impact in the future will be much more difficult and costly.
Organisations don’t have to compromise sustainable practices when taking extra precautions to keep environments clean and COVID-19 free. However, we must avoid knee-jerk reactions that lead to resources being burned through faster. Sadly, there’s a lot of greenwash and, unfortunately, the media have often got it wrong and misled the public into believing some products are more eco- friendly than others.
Buyers need to look out for independent, internationally recognised quality standards such as EN13432 for compostable and biodegradable packaging. This way, they’ll know that all the constituents and components, for example their food caddy liner or green waste bin liners, will biodegrade and compost as expected.
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Sadly, the licenses (e.g. DinCertco) issued to companies whose products conform to this standard, and which should be marked on the products, are often missing. This will only lead to further confusing the public, increasing greenwash, and building on the public’s lack of faith in the packaging industry to do the right thing.
As I continue to reiterate, contrary to popular belief, plastics have a very resource-efficient profile. Responsibly produced plastic packaging brings value and efficiencies to the supply chain. It uses less energy in its production and weighs less than alternatives like paper, cardboard, glass, and metal, and it can also extend shelf life, which helps to reduce food waste, for example.
It's important to recognise that there are many benefits to using plastic packaging and, due to its lightweight characteristics, reduced fuel consumption and lower greenhouse gases, throughout the supply chain.
Plastic is used for medical equipment and to safely protect specialist items which is extremely important for infection control at present. Within the cleaning industry, it enables the safe containment of liquids, eliminating environmental leaching of cleaning chemicals and wastes from bottles, for instance. The industry’s use of plastic waste sacks and bags is the simplest and most cost-effective way to encourage the safe and hygienic separation and collection of materials for re-use and recycling.
We must become champions of resource efficiency and choose responsibly sourced materials with the lowest carbon footprint. That means reducing our dependence on finite resources, and at the same time not increasing our use of energy and emissions associated with heavier, more polluting alternatives.
www.cromwellpolythene.co.uk
twitter.com/TomoCleaning
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