At today's Westminster Food and Nutrition Forum keynote seminar Next steps for food packaging and waste in the UK - innovation, responsibilities and policy development, 10th July, 2018, recycling is hot on the agenda. I hope this blog offer the reader some understanding of the work that is being done to tackle the issue of plastics in the context of climate change and its multifaceted dimensions to facilitate possibilities for shared learning.

 

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, chaired the first part of the seminar. She attributes the increased public awareness of the devastating effects of plastic pollution in the world's oceans to the Blue Planet TV series, presented by the great naturalist Sir David Attenborough. This can point the way forward on how best to reach out to the public.

 

The second part of the seminar was chaired by Steve Double, MP and Chair of Protect our Waves All-Party Parliamentary Group. During his visits to schools, the number one issue raised by children, in particular primary school children, is plastics waste in the oceans.  If the younger generation are well informed, then this is good news for the country.

 

Packaging and food waste have been of a significant concern given the impact on the global environment - the current heat wave across Europe, Japan and other parts of the world should be a wake-up call for action. In April 2018, WRAP, with the support of the Ellen McArthur Foundation, launched The UK Plastics Pact, with a view to bringing together, "Businesses, governments, innovators, NGOs, and citizens on a national level to rally behind ambitious targets and build a plastics system that works." It forms part of the Ellen McArthur Foundation's global initiative, the New Plastic's Economy.  Head of Business Collaboration Dr David Moon at WRAP describes plastics as an area which needs global collaboration. 

 

"Plastics is a global issue, so it requires national and global action.”

Dr David Moon, Head of Business Collaboration, WRAP

 

Conservation Begins at Home

 

Most UK households will have their own system for managing food and packaging waste, with separate bins for food waste, recycling and residual waste.  The difficulty for many is the disparity of waste management requirements.  It's also often complicated and confusing to know what goes where.

 

In recent years, there have been a number of diverse and important programmes in different parts of the globe, important assets for the world community to learn from and use for shared learning by others. 

 

Eric Giry, Agricultural Counsellor for the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands at the French Embassy London, presented a concise description on how France have been investing in education, training and awareness campaigns, such as Anti Gaspi https://bit.ly/2Ag55jk, along with a designated annual National Day against Food Waste on Oct 16th. The French government also introduced legislation which obliged the major food producers to have at least one agreement in place with a food charity. 

 

In the UK, Charlton Manor Primary School in south London is setting the trends for teaching children about food, healthy diet and how to manage food waste.  The school developed and published Delivering the National Curriculum through Food, a unique approach to teaching children, aiming for a cultural change in children's behaviour and their families. Recent research illustrates how behaviourally informed incentives work if they can harness children's core understanding and motivation. Charlton Manor's approach to teaching offers an important opportunity for shared learning with schools in the UK and other countries. For more on Charlton Manor go to www.charltonmanorprimary.co.uk

 

In Scotland, the Love Food Hate Waste campaign is now working with schools to develop specific content for the Scottish curriculum.  They are also partnering with universities to look at areas of innovation. For the full report by Zero Waste Scotland click here https://bit.ly/2No75Ya

 

Along with simplifying and standardising how to sustainably dispose of household waste and waste on the go, education will go a long way to improve waste disposal and reduce waste.  For example, a lot of milk is currently being wasted because people's fridges are too warm.  Healthy eating also comes at a cost of increased food waste, so adopting a healthier diet should include a food waste strategy. 

 

There is an opportunity for producers to include messages inside food packaging to educate and inform the public.  For example, including a message inside egg packs informing the customer that floating eggs are safe to consume. These are important ways for commercial suppliers to communicate and educate at very little cost.  

 

At the local level, strategies could be adopted by Local Authorities to facilitate greater participation for households and businesses.  Councillor Clyde Loakes, Chair of North London Waste Authority and Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Waltham Forest Council cited local initiatives, such as a scheme for the collection of bulky waste to prevent fly tipping.  Whilst initiatives such as this have proven successful on a local level, there is a need for funding to scale up to wider adoption.

 

Jill Farrell, Chief Operating Officer at Zero Waste Scotland, gave an insight into initiatives from Scotland.  Currently, 1 in 6 million meals served in Scottish restaurants is thrown away, costing the industry £64 million per annum.  Scotland have launched their own Love Food Hate Waste campaign, which includes a directive to encourage people to ask for doggie bags to prevent waste.

 

Local and National Initiatives to Combat Waste

 

Carrier Bag Charge

On 5th October 2015, retailers were required by law to charge 5p for all single-use plastic carrier bags.  This initiative was first set out in the government paper, A Green Future: Our 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment.  The initiative has been very successful, and the public have come on board.

 

FareShare

FareShare is a charity that redistribute surplus food to charities that turn it into meals.  They currently operate in 1,500 towns and cities around the UK and partner with frontline charities and community groups including homeless hostels, children's breakfast clubs, lunch clubs for older people, domestic violence refuges and community cafes.  More here: http://fareshare.org.uk/

 

Love Food Hate Waste

The Love Food Hate Waste campaign, developed by WRAP, aims to raise awareness of the need to reduce food waste by sharing easy practical everyday things that can be done in the home to waste less food.  Find out more about the Love Food Hate Waste campaign here: https://bit.ly/2ezNkw7

 

Post Contributor:

Caitriona Fitzsimons Digital Reporter