The need to rigorously reduce single-use plastic and the urgency to effectively recycle plastic packaging is well recognised by industry and consumers alike. And if you ask an average person the following questions: Who is responsible for placing a staggering amount of plastic on the market? Who is responsible for educating consumers around plastic waste and its disposal? You might hear ‘retailers’ or ‘supermarkets’ in response. To put things into perspective, it is important to understand the scale of plastic production and consumption in the UK, and how it is perceived by consumers. According to the SUEZ report, an estimated 215 billion items of flexible plastic packaging – such as confectionery wrappers, pet and baby food pouches, bread bags and crisp packets – are placed on the market each year. Flexible plastic packaging remained non-recyclable for a long time due to the lack of infrastructure to collect and recycle it. As per the SUEZ report, only 10-17% of UK local authorities collect some form of film or flexible packaging. Consequently, the vast majority ends up in residual waste streams, and is sent for incineration or ends up in landfills. There is an increasing amount of evidence that 2017’s David Attenborough-narrated BBC documentary series Blue Planet II drove a sharp surge in the awareness of average consumers around the impact of single-use plastic on the natural environment. According to reports, retailers noticed a huge shift in consumer behaviour. However, there are other studies that show the documentary may not have discouraged consumers from choosing plastic. Indeed, there are many factors that influence an individual’s behaviour to behave in a pro-environmental way – understanding alone cannot drive action Even so, in the light of Blue Planet II, UK grocers were seen to step up to the challenge of tackling plastic waste crisis, placing plastic high on their sustainability agenda. In recent years there has been an increased effort to provide sustainable packaging options in line with their commitment to UK plastic pact. During interviews for Plastic Packaging in People’s Lives (PPiPL) with food industry representatives across the supply chain, including packaging manufacturers, technologists, food processors, wholesalers, product suppliers, policy advisors, and compliance consultants, we found stakeholders recognise the need for collaboration to develop a system wherein retailers, consumers and waste management companies work in tandem. It was striking that Blue Planet was often mentioned by industry participants as the driving factor for organisations to make plastic packaging a priority in their sustainability strategy. The most promising sustainable packaging initiatives to reduce single-use plastic packaging as major retailers and brands trial new initiatives are reuse options, 14 |
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