Councils Urge Ban on Low-Grade Single-Use Plastic Packaging

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Local Government Association (LGA) urged the government to take necessary actions to ban use of low-grade single-use plastic packaging, after a recent report revealed extremely low recycling rate for plastic food pots, tubs and trays. The LGA Analysis noted that only 169,145 tonnes of these materials out of the total 525,000 tonnes consumed by households per year are recycled. This essentially translates to just under a third, with the remaining two-thirds being landfilled or incinerated.

The LGA urged manufacturers to stop making packaging out of materials that were difficult to recycle. Specifically mentioning to black plastic microwave meal trays, LGA noted that these packaging items hinders recycling process, as black color cannot be easily scanned by recycling machines. It urged manufacturers to use alternative materials, such as cardboard, paper or recyclable version of plastic pots, which in turn could boost recyclability. It also called upon producers and manufacturers to contribute more to collection and disposal costs.

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According to Judith Blake, LGA environment spokesperson, called upon manufacturers to work with Councils to develop a plan to stop unrecyclable plastic material from being used in packaging. Incidentally, the Councils have been demanding development of such a plan to tackle the problem for many years now. This could boost the U.K.’s stalled recycling rate and bring down the amount of waste sent to landfills.

Meantime, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) stated that it would put forward reforms to boost recycling in its Resources and Waste Strategy to be announced later this year.

Although a large number of leading retailers have announced various strategies and measures to reduce plastic waste in recent months, it is widely believed that only new policy measures could give notable boost to U.K. recycling rates, which have continued to remain more or less flat in recent years.