The BBC have a short report from Edinburgh about the campaign against excess packaging:
Retailers promise they are cutting back on packaging in the face of protests from environmentalists.
Watch the BBC Report online. Remember to look out for local “take back your packaging” events.
There has been a lot of activity in the past few days with several papers and blogs commenting on the campaign to reduce excess packaging. The Daily Mail reports on how your easter treats come in at 8,000 tons of waste packaging, whilst Recycling and Waste World report on how there is a packaging ‘arms race’. Local media and blogs across the country are picking up on the story, for example a report on ‘EGG-cess packaging‘ in the Hucknall Dispatch, and ‘Easter-egg firms slammed‘ by the blog Green Bang.
Jo Swinson MP comments in a feature in the Independent today, East egg makers fail to cut packaging. The article compares the commitment of several companies to reduce their Easter egg packaging, and what has actually taken place this year. Jo Swinson comments:
“Despite packaging being much more in the spotlight, Easter egg manufacturers are not taking the steps needed.”
Mike Pringle MSP has been quoted in the Edinburgh Evening News in their article on charging for plastic bags. Mike said:
“If we really want to get rid of plastic bags, the only way is a charge. To be honest, voluntary agreements never work. Australia managed to get a 34 per cent reduction (although this figure crept up again) but Ireland has managed to achieve a 93 per cent reduction through a compulsory levy. And the great thing is small shopkeepers will actually save money “
The BBC is reporting that UK retail giant Mark & Spencer plans to charge customers 5p for each plastic carrier bag. Marks & Spencer have created an animation explaining their decision. The Newsnight blog comments on other countries efforts to reduce plastic bag use, with interesting comments in the discussion.
The Kirkintilloch Herald has highlighted Jo Swinson MP’s campaign to get supermarkets and other shops to cut down on unnecessary packaging in their article “Bid to Cut Waste“. The article reports on the cost of excess packaging to the average family, and the packaging reduction bill in Parliament.
Scotland on Sunday has reported on excess packaging activists from Friends of the Earth returning their unwanted packaging waste to the supermarkets. Jo Swinson MP backed the campaign saying:
“The public’s calls for Government action on excess packaging are getting louder and louder.
“I’m sure this weekend’s activities will leave supermarkets in no doubt about what their customers think of excess packaging.
“The Government has been too timid and too slow in tackling the packaging problem”
BBC News have also covered this story, with more of the action from Friends of the Earth Scotland.