Industry leader urges increased action on recycling & sustainability
Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - 10:56:23
Recycling boss, David Palmer-Jones, has said that the government needs to do more to hold manufacturers to account for the sustainability of their packaging, according to the Independent.
Focusing on paper and plastic cups used in their billions each year to hold takeaway coffee and other beverages, the UK head of waste management firm, Suez, argued that even the newly announced tax on disposable containers like this might not be enough to bring about a real change.
Earlier this month popular outlet, Pret A Manger, revealed that it will slash 50p off the cost of a cup of coffee for customers who are willing to use a receptacle they bring with them from home, as part of wider efforts to tackle this growing concern.
Palmer-Jones claims that it makes more sense to encourage recyclability at the very start of the chain, bringing the idea of recycling in so that packaging and products of all kinds are simpler to process in a sustainable way, once they are no longer usable.
This kind of ethos is one which is also being encouraged in the mobile phone industry, where manufacturers like Apple have taken to developing device designs which are not as difficult to dismantle and from which precious materials can be reclaimed.
Many campaigners argue that smartphone makers should go one step further and ensure that new devices can be repaired more easily by customers and third parties, in an effort to extend their life span. Rather than recycling them outright, selling old phones to be restored would become even more appealing as an option for consumers.
Starbucks is set to test a scheme in which customers will be charged 5p for the use of paper coffee cups at a number of its locations in London. The outcome of this trial could be useful in determining future changes in policy.
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