Hard to recycle Products
14th March 2017 | Recycling
Coffee cups, coffee capsules and MDF are some of the most popular and hard-to-recycle products in circulation. They account for hundreds of thousands and tons of waste sent to landfill each year. This is an issue which companies and governments are striving to address. New initiatives and innovations across industries could set a new standard for these problematic products.
UK MPs have launched an inquiry into the environmental impact of coffee cup and plastic bottle waste. The inquiry is being conducted by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC).
Hard to recycle Products
Coffee cups and plastic bottles represent a significant challenge for the establishment of a circular economy in the UK. Seven million plastic bottles are sold each day in the UK, but only a fraction is recycled. The rest end up in landfill or are leaked into the environment. Similarly, less than one per cent of the 5000 coffee cups discarded every minute in the UK are recycled.
“Our throwaway society has given us a tide of litter on our beaches, dead seabirds and fish and plastic in our food. We all enjoy a takeaway coffee or tea, but the cups they are served in are particularly difficult to recycle because they combine plastic coating and cardboard,” said May Creagh, MP and EAC Chair.
“Our enquiry will be taking a serious look at solutions like the use of different materials, better recycling and bottle deposit return schemes.”
The EAC will be asking businesses to provide evidence on how the public and private sector can work together to introduce policies which reduce waste and increase awareness of recycling among the public. It will also be drawing on examples of best practice from other countries to find solutions to the issue.
Companies including Costa Coffee, Danone and Nestle Water are already heading up initiatives to move the food and beverage industry towards greater circularity.
More information available on the website below
http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/products_design/libby_maccarthy/trending