In January 2019, Lancaster City Council declared a state of climate emergency. It is a decision that reflects the situation the whole world finds itself in, but also the importance of action at a local level. Our Climate Local Plan was released a year later, where we set out our intention to mitigate the negative impact of climate change on our communities and the environment. Within the plan, we outlined how we wanted to minimise waste generation, promote recycling, and prevent the effects of air, water, and land pollution. So, when the opportunity to join the Plastic Packaging in People’s Lives (PPiPL) project, working alongside experts at Lancaster University, manufacturers and retailers arose, it was the perfect chance for us to expand our knowledge of local attitudes and behaviours around recycling, and discover what we could do to improve them. As the waste collection authority, we carry out the kerbside collections on behalf of Lancashire County Council. We are governed by their directives in terms of what they expect us to do, and by mandate from central government as part of the waste management strategy. We are always looking at where we can improve our service delivery, looking at efficiencies, trying to support some bigger projects which may add value to the council and our service delivery, and through PPiPL we saw an opportunity to do just that. SEEKING INSIGHTS We went into PPiPL hoping that all parties – ourselves included – would come out understanding the many different facets that are involved with 24 |
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