Category Archives: Responsible Packaging

The Queen declares war on plastic after David Attenborough documentary

Buckingham Palace outlined new waste plans and said there was a ‘strong desire to tackle the issue’ at the highest levels of the Royal household.

It is thought that the Queen became personally interested in the problem of plastic after working with Sir David Attenborough on a conservation documentary dealing with wildlife in the Commonwealth.

The new measures include gradually phasing out plastic straws in public cafes and banning them altogether in staff dining rooms.

Internal caterers at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh will now only be allowed to use china plates and glasses, or recyclable paper cups.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/11/queen-declares-war-plastic-david-attenborough-documentary/

Whale and shark species at increasing risk from microplastic pollution – study

Large filter feeders, such as baleen whales and basking sharks, could be particularly at risk from ingesting the tiny plastic particles, say scientists.

Whales, some sharks and other marine species such as rays are increasingly at risk from microplastics in the oceans, a new study suggests.

Species such as baleen whales and basking sharks, which feed through filtering seawater for plankton, are ingesting the tiny particles of indigestible plastic which now appear to permeate oceans throughout the world. Some of these species have evolved to swallow hundreds or even thousands of cubic metres of seawater a day, but taking in microplastic can block their ability to absorb nutrients, and may have toxic side-effects.

The new study, published in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, advises more research on the megafauna of the oceans, as the effects of microplastics on them is currently not well understood. Scientists have found, for instance through examining the bodies of beached whales, large pieces of plastic in the guts of such creatures, but the effect of microplastics, though less obvious, may be just as harmful.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/05/whale-and-shark-species-at-increasing-risk-from-microplastic-pollution-study

Cranswick cooks up plan to become ‘zero waste’ food business by 2030

One of the UK’s largest food suppliers has promised to eradicate food waste from its business by 2030, as part of a sweeping new sustainability plan.

Cranswick yesterday launched its new ‘Second Nature’ plan, which features promises to switch to greener packaging and clean energy, as well as the headline commitment to ensure zero food waste.

The strategy comes hot on the heels of a promise to halve the company’s use of plastic packaging by weight by 2025, which was made last month amid a flurry of industry commitments to curb plastic waste.

https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3026247/cranswick-cooks-up-plan-to-become-zero-waste-food-business-by-2030

11 billion pieces of plastic bring disease threat to coral reefs

There are more than 11 billion pieces of plastic debris on coral reefs across the Asia-Pacific, according to our new research, which also found that contact with plastic can make corals more than 20 times more susceptible to disease.

In our study, published today in Science, we examined more than 124,000 reef-building corals and found that 89% of corals with trapped plastic had visual signs of disease – a marked increase from the 4% chance of a coral having disease without plastic.

Globally, more than 275 million people live within 30km of coral reefs, relying on them for food, coastal protection, tourism income, and cultural value.

With coral reefs already under pressure from climate change and mass bleaching events, our findings reveal another significant threat to the world’s corals and the ecosystems and livelihoods they support.

https://theconversation.com/11-billion-pieces-of-plastic-bring-disease-threat-to-coral-reefs-90694

and

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6374/460

Hemp Offers Benefits For The Future

The Polo Hemp Mill in Illinois began operation on November 20, 1943. At that time there were more than 3,200 hemp growers in the state.

Educational materials and propaganda videos such as “Victory for Hemp” were sponsored by the U.S. government, assuring cultivation would be backed by our military and economy.

Considering this happened 74 years ago this fall, we see the same struggles in the present-day relationship between farmers and industrial hemp in Illinois. This time around, a massive effort is required to establish sustainability and resilience within our agricultural system and the next economy, not the war effort.

Once again, farmers need assurance that hemp is a viable crop for their rotation and that hemp will not only benefit their pocketbooks as a fiber crop, but also is a powerful ally in environmental restoration.

Requiring little water and no fertilizers or pesticides to grow, hemp thrives in marginal soil. It removes chemicals that seep into waterways. It can replace paper products, reducing deforestation that encroaches on fragile ecosystems. And that’s just a start.

The market for hemp products is vast and growing rapidly. It includes durable textiles; strong, ecofriendly building materials; natural cosmetics; petroleum free bio-plastics and biofuels; beneficial, non-psychoactive medicines; and nutrient dense foods.

As a first-generation farmer, and a woman, I am so thrilled to have a future in hemp on my horizon. My devotion to this plant stems from a realization that regenerative agriculture is my only path to an honest living.

I’m Rachel Berry, and that’s my perspective.

http://northernpublicradio.org/post/hemp-offers-benefits-future

There is a great future in bioplastics. But businesses and consumers need to change first

In Mike Nichols’s 1967 film, The Graduate, a disillusioned college grad, Ben, played by Dustin Hoffman, is taken aside at a party by a family friend, Mr. McGuire.

“I want to say one word to you, just one word,” Mr. McGuire tells him.

“Yes, sir.”

“Are you listening?”

“Yes, I am,” Ben says, nodding.

“Plastics.”

“Exactly how do you mean?” Ben asks.

“There’s a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?”

The “plastics” quote became the film’s best-known line, and one of the best known in American cinema. And you know what? Mr. McGuire was right.

In the 1960s, plastics were mostly used for durable goods, from car seats to sleek, Italian-designed kitchenware. Shortly thereafter, the use of single-use, throwaway plastic for beverages, food, shopping bags and containers exploded, creating fortunes for the petrochemicals companies that would churn out hundreds of millions of tonnes of polyethylene, the most common and cheapest of the plastics.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/plastics-there-is-a-great-future-in-bioplastics-will-you-think-about-it/article37669410/

INSIDE COCA-COLA’S SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY

The Coca-Cola Company in Western Europe and Coca-Cola European Partners have launched a first ever joint Sustainability Action Plan for western Europe, entitled ‘This is Forward’, setting out new commitments on drinks, packaging and society. Developed through a consultation process encompassing 100 stakeholders, governments, NGOs and customers, as well as 12,000 consumers and a thousand of its own employees across Europe, the plan sets respective targets of 100 per cent packaging collection and 50 per cent recycled content for PET bottles by 2025. Joe Franses (vice president, Sustainability, ‎Coca-Cola European Partners) and Ulrike Sapiro (director of sustainability, Coca-Cola Western Europe) reveal the iconic brand owner’s packaging strategy to Packaging Europe.

‘This is Forward’ sets out an aim to collect 100 per cent of Coca-Cola’s packaging in western Europe. What concrete steps and collaborations do you have in place to realise this?

https://packagingeurope.com/inside-coca-cola-sustainability-action-plan-europe/

Knives out! UK top food chain Leon announces it will ditch plastic cutlery from its outlets within months

UK High street restaurant chain Leon is to ditch plastic cutlery, it declared yesterday.

Throwaway knives, forks and spoons which end up choking the environment will be phased out within months at its 50-plus outlets.

The announcement is a victory for the Daily Mail’s campaign to end the scourge of plastics polluting the planet and will pile pressure on rivals to follow suit.

Coffee house Le Pain Quotidien has already switched to biodegradable alternatives but the trailblazers shame the majority of high street chains which still hand out plastic disposables.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5286751/Fast-food-chain-Leon-joins-fight-against-plastic.html#ixzz54pSl4Qm3

The Problem of Plastic Waste will require Drastic Measures

Plastic waste is everywhere, but several countries, from Malawi to Morocco, have made plans to phase out plastic shopping bags and other disposable items. Now, following in their footsteps, Great Britain is planning to enact new measures aimed at weaning customers off disposable plastic products that are chucked out after a single use, thereby greatly adding to the already massive amounts of plastic waste.

Among other measures, the European nation will impose a 5 pence (RM0.3) surcharge on single-use plastic bags and lean on retailers to set up plastic-free aisles. The aim, according to Prime Minister Theresa May, is to eradicate all plastic waste within the next 25 years.

So far so good. But here is a problem: that quarter-century timeline is unfeasible. There is way too much plastic waste in the world as it is, and such long-term plans will do little to alleviate the situation in the near future.

The Problem of Plastic Waste will require Drastic Measures

Responsible consumption, a guide to a zero-waste New Year

It’s early in the new year and there is no other way to hit the ground running than an inspiring new year compliments and ambitious felicitation, may the new year bring fulfillment to set goals and aspirations.

New year resolution is a tradition in which an individual resolve to change an undesired trait or behavior, to accomplish a certain personal goal or otherwise improve their lives.

Responsible consumption, a guide to a zero-waste New Year