Nov 24 2006
The launch of the IPPR (Institute of Public Policy Research)/Green Alliance report: A Zero Waste UK has made many people think.
But what they are thinking may not be right!
A Zero Waste UK is not based on the premise that we produce no waste, but looks at ways to harness resources, get better value from them and reduce waste sent to landfill.
INCPEN – which represents companies involved in all parts of the packaging and product supply chain – welcomes this approach and indeed has been arguing in favour of it since it was established 32 years ago. And we are calling for more research to inform evidence-based policy development.
Here are some facts we have established during those years.
- There’s less packaging than you think: according to DEFRA, packaging contributes 18% of household waste which represents about 3% - by weight and volume – of landfilled waste.
- The UK uses less packaging per person than many other EU countries – 171 kg per capita in 2004 compared with 188 kg for Germany, 198 kg for the Netherlands and 200 kg for France. (Source: EU Commission).
- The amount of packaging used in the UK since 1999 has increased by just 3.9%. (source: DEFRA). During the same period GDP rose by 17% and household consumption rose by 20.5% (Source: National Accounts). Industry’s continuous efforts to reduce the amount of material used per pack has more than compensated for the small increase in total amount of packaging which is caused mostly by the increase in population and a shift to more people living alone.
- Packaging prevents waste. The main reason for using packaging is to prevent product wastage. It enables products to be brought safely from farms and factories to consumers. Ten times more energy and materials go into production of food than into packaging. (Source: Dr Jan Kooijman).
- Packaging is widely recycled. Almost 60% of used packaging was recycled in 2005 – more than double the rate in 1998 – and this is increasing year on year (Source: DEFRA). In 2005 the packaging industry contributed £105 million to support recycling.
- Excessive packaging is the exception. Most products are packed in the minimum amount of protection to meet the needs of transport, hygiene, storage and display. Help INCPEN root out those that are excessively packaged – don’t buy them and support our call for a “packaging watchdog” run by a multi-stakeholder packaging forum.
- Companies are encouraged to continue to improve packaging because there are laws (the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations) and commercial pressures to push them.
- Packaging is a tiny part of the big picture. If a household turned down its room heating thermostat by 2 degrees or drove one less mile a day, it would save as much energy as is used to make the packaging for its whole year’s supply of goods. (Source: Dr Jan Kooijman)
Environment Minister Ben Bradshaw recently suggested that shoppers should leave ‘excess’ packaging at the supermarket checkout.
“Clearly he doesn’t often do the household shopping or he would know that, with few exceptions, we need that packaging to get our food home in a state fit to eat” says Jane Bickerstaffe, Director of INCPEN. “I don’t want my chicken mixed up with soap powder, dirty potatoes, ice cream and cat litter”, she continued.
INCPEN also takes issue with the demand in the Zero Waste report that government should impose levies on hard-to-recycle products.
“We believe that this demand is poorly thought-through as it ignores the fact that it’s more important to optimise the use of resources – materials and energy – in the first place”, Jane Bickerstaffe said. “It is generally accepted that climate change is the single greatest challenge that we face, and we believe that effective packaging makes a substantial contribution to the fight against it”, she continued.
The industry is not complacent. It continuously seeks to improve packaging and INCPEN members are currently identifying how best to make an even more positive contribution to sustainable production, distribution and consumption in a future low fossil-carbon economy.