LAWR

June 2015 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 7 NEWS ANALYSIS July's LAWR includes a 'street scene' special, with detailed analysis of UK littering policy and what needs to be done to keep streets clean cost-effectively. There will also be a focus on compostable packaging. In next month's issue has left the current guidelines open to interpretation. Polystyrene problems Take expanded polystyrene, or EPS, which is commonly used by fast food outlets and street vendors. Many of the headlines singled out EPS as the material that would be banned, but as the Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA) has long argued, it is recyclable and, what's more, banning it would be unlikely to reduce litter – EPS would simply be replaced by another material on the city's streets, says FPA director Martin Kersh. To reduce littering, communication is key, he adds. In March, the Communities and Local Government Committee found that litter levels in England have "barely improved" over the last 12 years, with clean-up costs in the region of £850m. Fast food litter has increased 20% in the past year. "The government should bring forward legislation requiring all shops, restaurants and retail food outlets to keep the perimeters of their premises free from litter," the inquiry noted. In the UK shop owners can be asked to tidy up their perimeter under the Street Litter Control Notices Order 1991, but this is not an ongoing obligation and is only used when there is an obvious problem. The big companies can afford to have staff clear the perimeter, but small businesses, the government argues, already "contribute and pay charges through business rates". The LGC committee also proposed the following: "The fast-food industry should introduce 'on-pack' information on all branded take-away and fast- food packaging to remind consumers to dispose of litter responsibly." Could this be an opportunity to ensure that " People think biodegradable or compostable packaging can be thrown on the ground " recyclable, biodegradable or compostable packaging ends up in the right bins and at the right facility with maximum value extracted? Given that eight in 10 people think they can dispose of takeaway coffee cups in the paper or cardboard recycling bins, perhaps so. FPA's Kersh also notes that "people think biodegradable or compostable packaging can be thrown on the ground. Whether it's biodegradable or compostable it needs to end up at the right facility." Oxford will have to tread carefully – as it has already found, good intentions are not always the most environmentally friendly. Brunton at Vegware argues that Oxford should have gone for 'recyclable and compostable' as the packaging of choice for food vendors given the problems relating to food contamination in dry recycling streams. The policy is "not all that meaningful", she says. Most surprising remains the inclusion of polystyrene as recyclable, she adds. "I hosted a roundtable of members from the waste sector and foodservice sector on the barriers to zero waste in foodservice. The main finding from this was that polystyrene foodservice packaging, after lunch, is the biggest barrier – because there is no facility that will take it and recycle it. You have to question how meaningful Oxford's policy is if they are considering polystyrene burger boxes as recyclable. What exactly are they considering not recyclable?" Future activity Oxford City Council's collectors, Oxford Direct Services, don't have provision for recycling EPS, which has prompted the FPA to reach out and work with it to find suitable solutions. Discussions with local street vendors are ongoing. Cutting litter remains the priority – given that it costs the council 23 times more to pick and treat that, compared to the waste in street bins – but there is clearly a desire to go one further. "[The new guidance] has raised awareness among commercial traders across the city of the need to use sustainable packaging wherever possible, and the policy driver to encourage this is now in place," a council spokesman explains. "There are already a number of street recycling bins located across the city and a review of provision is underway. The review is not directly linked to the new policy, although it is important to recognise that the policy driver for future activity is now in place." Pic: Arena Photo UK/Shutterstock.com

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