Did you know that every 7 weeks the population of the UK throw away rubbish equivalent to their own body weight!

The British consumers are starting to object to the increasing volume of packaging waste forcing major retailers to look for greener alternatives. Coca-Cola has been studying the “feasibility” of biodegradable bottles. The Swiss giant Nestlé is developing a plastic tray boxes that disintegrates on contact with water. Other companies are going biodegradable too, such as Marks & Spencer, and Tesco however they need to understand what is meant by biodegradable. Landfill sites do not provide the ideal conditions for bio degradation. In fact landfill provides the opposite, therefore  biodegradable plastic products will not degrade.
Most families in Britain are inadvertently paying an average of £460 each on food packaging.UK ministers are concerned about how wasteful Britain is in comparison with the rest of Europe where improvements in recycling rates have been matched by rises in consumption. This just adds to the plastic mountain thrown into landfill sites where it will remain for 1,000 years.
Did you know:-

• Britain uses 20 times more plastic now than it did 50 years ago
• Plastic is made from a mixture of oil( A finite resource) and toxic chemicals
• Only 22 per cent of household rubbish is recycled. Most goes straight to landfill
• Out of all the countries in the EU only Greece and Portugal dispose of more waste to landfill than the UK
• Packaging waste weighs in at 9 million tons – 5 million of it from homes
• By quantity, most packaging is plastic (53 per cent), followed by paper/cardboard (25 per cent), glass (10 per cent), metals (7 per cent) and mixed materials (5 per cent).
• Britons use 275,000 tons of plastic bottles each year – 15 million a day

Sources: Department for Environment and Rural Affairs, Industry Council for Packaging.
Question
Is there an alternative to plastic food packaging made from a mixture of oil and toxic chemicals?
Answer

Yes!  Bioplastic made from Cornstarch. Products made from cornstarch are 100% compostable and will break down into compost in ideal conditions in approximately 12 weeks. The waste can be put in with food waste ready for transportation to anaerobic digestion, or commercial composting sites.

In the line at the supermarket, the cashier told the older woman that plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained,

“We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”

That’s right, they didn’t have the green thing in her day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles via the milkman. Coke bottles and beer bottles to the local pub/off licence for return back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

She got milk from the milkman, bread from the bakers, only got vegetables or salad in season. Not like today when we use aircraft to bring produce from around the world that  looks like the real thing but with little taste.

But they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator of lift in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery shop and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two miles!

But she’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby’s nappies because they didn’t have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts – wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right; they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in every room and the TV had a small screen the size of a pizza dish, not a screen the size of the county of Yorkshire. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you. They did not have ready meals in plastic packs that heat up in seconds in a microwave. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she’s right; they didn’t have the green thing back then.

They drank from a tap when they were thirsty, instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the bus and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus, instead of turning their mums into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. One did not need a computerised gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza takeaway.

It’s a crying shame that we didn’t have “the green thing” back then!!!!!!!

Have we really progressed?

New waste regulations are about to be introduced which will effect every business in the UK.

If you own or manage a business within the food or catering industry you need to take steps now to potentially avoid additional waste collection costs.

When the new regulations are imposed all companies will have to segregate waste types and arrange disposal

• All recyclable waste including plastic
• Cardboard
• Reusable items
• Food including 100% compostable items

The UK are rapidly moving towards zero to landfill as the existing landfill sites become full.

Think of all of the plastic disposables or packaging that you currently throw in with the general waste along with cardboard and food.

You could reduce the impact of any additional waste collection costs if you switch to 100%  compostable products. These can be disposed of with any food waste. Thus reducing the need for additional waste container and associated collection costs

Items such as plastic lined take away hot drink cups cannot be recycled therefore it would be your responsibility to source alternative products that are recyclable.

If  companies do not adhere to the new regulations they will face a hefty fine

To found out more visit the folowwing link

www.greenearthpackaging.co.uk

New waste regulations will change how you deal with your waste. You will have to consider the hierarchy of waste options – to prevent, reuse and recycle before you dispose of waste. This will apply to ALL businesses. Environmental matters are now relevant to all service businesses as well as industrial, logistics and construction companies. Fast food outlets, Food industry including catering etc,  Solicitors, Accountants, Insurance Brokers, all Service companies, everyone needs to comply. Otherwise you could be breaking the law.
In simple terms before throwing something away you will need to consider whether you can:-
1. Prevent using something
2. Reuse
3. Recycle
4. Recover for use elsewhere
5. Only then – disposal.

E.g. Plastic waste will have to be segregated and collected in a separate container. ( Additional cost)
If you throw something away without considering the alternatives you will be breaking the law. Many items of office waste can easily be recycled.
This seems very hard, but in the UK we are running out of holes in the ground. The country is now moving towards a Zero Waste economy.
If you want more details please go to the attached link:-
http://bit.ly/dTKsV0
Alternatively, if you want to look at the legislation in more detail go to the NetRegs site:-
http://bit.ly/eAKpmS

Well done to the UK  authorities that have created a zero waste to landfill for the 2012 London Olympics. This will mean that plastic food packaging including catering disposables will be sent for recycling.  When will they wake up and realise that the UK does not have the capability or technology to recycle all  types of plastic.  Due to contamination  Only 7% of all the plastic that is collected will actually be recycled.  Where will the rest go? The other aspect that they seem to have over looked is the large quantity of oil that will be used to make plastic packaging.  A number of Olympic sites will be switching to sustainable catering disposables such as hot and cold cups , hot and cold food containers, cutlery etc. These products can be disposed of with any food waste and sent for commercial composting. This will also reduce the number of waste collection vehicles. The eco friendly products take 65% less energy to produce than plastic alternative.

We will try to spread the word and get as many companies involved with catering at the Olympics to switch to  100%  biodegradable products.

Please help us to help the environment.