Food and toy packaging contributing to UK waste problems

by Zoe Taylor - 18/06/2010

"Food and toy manufacturers could face crackdowns as the government moves to slash excessive amounts of packaging entering homes."

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman included the warning in a comprehensive review of Britain’s waste management strategies. The review included in depth looks into fortnightly collections, food scrap buckets, and the highly controversial fines for households misusing the system.

The report has been called a ‘no holds barred’ approach to an overhaul of the English waste policies. It is expected that it will result in a ban on food waste being sent to landfills. Mrs Spelman, in line with the new coalition government, has been in strong opposition to Labour’s rubbish strategies, which included the ‘pay as you throw’ tax.

Last week, the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government threw out the widely unpopular ‘pay as you throw’ scheme, calling it draconian and redundant. Yesterday, Mrs Spelman also included toy manufacturers in her speech, citing the unnecessary amounts of packaging that come with both food and toys.

She added that a lot of the packaging in toy shops are just marketing ploys, saying that attractive boxes and oversized boxes were more about making the product look good than protecting it from damage. Mrs Spelman also said that although the direction of travel for recycling was heading in the right direction, the pace was lagging behind.

The review also looks at recycling infrastructure and the need to build more facilities to handle additional rubbish. Biodegradable waste like food leftovers can be used to create green energy, said Mrs Spelman, but first the country’s anaerobic digestion facilities needed to be increased.

More Details: http://www.recycle.co.uk/news/2311000.html