Jo Swinson
Lib Dem MP for East Dunbartonshire
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Jo Swinson Lib Dem MP for East Dunbartonshire |
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| 2nd September 2010 | Jo Swinson | <jo@joswinson.org.uk> |
Excess Packaging Campaign - let's wrap it up for good!
The average family spends £470 each year just on packaging. Then there's the cost of disposing of it - as well as paying our local Councils to collect our rubbish, we're now paying extra for whatever isn't recycled. Every household is paying £30 a year in landfill taxes alone. Finally there's the environmental cost; any packaging we don't recycle goes into landfill, which produces the greenhouse gas methane. Decomposing packaging waste alone produces 30,000 tonnes of this gas each year, which has the same effect on global warming as the annual emissions of 100,000 cars. Excessive packaging is wasteful, expensive and damaging to our planet. Something must be done about it. In this section I explain the laws and voluntary agreements which currently govern the packaging industry, as well as the actions I have taken as part of my campaign against excess packaging. These range from the high-level - introducing a Bill in Parliment - to the grassroots. I also suggest some things you can do to support the campaign against excess packaging. [Packaging (Reduction) Bill] - [Packaging Law: Essential Requirements] - [Packaging Law: Producer Obligations] - [Courtauld Commitment] - [Easter Egg Packaging Campaign] - [Take Action] - [News Stories] - [Featured Links]Packaging (Reduction) BillIn October 2007, I presented a bill to Parliament, setting out a case for a reduction in the amount of packaging used for products bought in our stores. Excessive and wasteful packaging makes absolutely no economic or environmental sense. Despite increases in recycling, domestic waste has risen by a fifth since 1997. The average family now spends £470 per year on packaging. Government attempts to tackle the packaging problem have been much too timid and much too slow. The bill set out how to tackle excess packaging, including giving consumers the right to send their packaging back to the manufacturers, and helping Trading Standards Officers to clamp down on waste. The Packaging (Reduction) Bill proposed a national body be set up to promote and enforce packaging reduction, as well improve existing regulations. Customers would also be able to recycle packaging in supermarkets. In the video on the right, you can watch some of the speech I made as I presented the Bill to the House of Commons. Unfortunately, the Government did not back the Bill, but I continue to campaign for better legislation to cut out excess packaging. This page explains some of the other actions I have taken to combat excess packaging. Jo's news stories on the Packaging (Reduction) Bill
29/02/08 Lib Dems back Jo Swinson plans to tackle excess packaging 23/10/07 Jo targets excess packaging in Parliament 19/09/07 Lib Dem conference backs Jo's packaging plan External news stories on the Packaging (Reduction) Bill01/11/07 Bid to cut waste (Kirkintilloch Herald) 25/10/07 MP uses Bill to lobby government on packaging reduction (Packaging News) 24/10/07 Call for packaging clamp-down as Bill introduced (Letsrecycle.com) 24/10/07 Swinson aims to cut wasteful packaging (The Herald) 23/10/07 Lib Dems: Govt attempts to reduce waste 'too timid' (Politics.co.uk) 23/10/07 Customers could dump wrappers before leaving shop under new law (The Independent) 19/09/07 Plans to cut packaging win Lib Dem support (The Guardian) 19/09/07 Crackdown call on waste packaging (BBC News) 19/09/07 MPs call for national body to reduce packaging (The Independent) 17/09/07 Lib Dems demand pack reduction targets (Packaging News) Packaging Law: Essential RequirementsIt is not a well known fact, but we have laws in the UK which require retailers and manufacturers to minimise the amount of packaging they include with their products. These are the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003, which actually started out as EU legislation in the form of the 1992 Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste. The Essential Regulations put the following requirements into UK law:
These laws are intended to be enforced by Trading Standards Offices. This means that if you believe the packaging on a product you have bought is excessive, you can report it to your local Trading Standards Office and they can prosecute the company responsible. However, despite the many examples of excess packaging we see on the shelves every day, only four prosecutions have ever been brought under the Essential Regulations since they were introduced in 2003. In 2008 I carried out a survey of Trading Standards Offices which revealed that they lack the resources to pursue prosecutions under the Essential Regulations, and that the unusual wording of the legislation makes it difficult to enforce. The following news story also explains the survey results: 13/05/08 Trading Standards not equipped to fight excess packaging In a House of Commons debate on 24th April 2008, I pressed the Environment Minister Joan Ruddock to strengthen the legislation and equip Trading Standards Offices to enforce it. The Minister admitted that the Essential Regulations are not working, saying: "The hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) raised questions about the packaging regulations. We agree with her. The essential requirements do not work. We have asked for a review, but progress is slow." I subsequently met with Joan Ruddock and made the case to her that packaging legislation must be improved. 
The following news stories give more details of my meeting with Environment Minister Joan Ruddock: 13/05/08 Jo urges Minister to act on excess packaging 06/05/08 Jo taking residents' packaging complaints direct to Minister 17/04/08 Jo to press Minister on excess packaging
Packaging Law: Producer ObligationsAs well as the Essential Regulations, the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 introduced responsibilities for manufacturers in relation to their packaging. The Producer Responsibility Obligations Regulations oblige businesses with an annual turnover over £2million who handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging per year to register with the Environment Agency or another compliance scheme. These compliance schemes record how much packaging is being produced so that they can measure what percentage of packaging is recovered and recycled. This enables the Governent to work out whether the UK is meeting its recycling and recovery targets. The Regulations also require companies to certify that their obligations have been met and, if they are retailers, inform consumers of how they are increasing recovery and recycling. There have been several recent prosecutions under this law, however many companies are still not even aware that they have these obligations. The soft drinks company Red Bull and the company who make GHD haircare products have both recently been fined for failing to register with compliance schemes. Both of them pleaded guilty to the charges, saying they were unaware of the Regulations and came forward as soon as they realised they were breaking the law. I am calling on the Government to make more effort to raise awareness of the legislation. For more on this please see the following news story: 04/09/09 Companies "unaware" of packaging law Courtauld Commitment
The Courtauld Commitment is a voluntary agreement between wrap and manufacturers in the grocery market which aims to deliver absolute reductions in packaging and food waste by 2010. 41 companies have now signed the Commitment, which WRAP estimates now covers over 92% of the UK grocery market. The agreement set the following objectives:
In 2008, the signatories met their first target, which was to design out packaging waste growth - that is, despite the yearly increase in the amount of packaged products sold, by designing those products so as to minimise the amount of packaging that would go to waste (rather than being recycling), they managed to prevent the total amount of wasted packaging from increasing. This is good news, although it is vital that we not only cut out packaging waste growth but actually reduce the amount of packaging that goes to waste. I also believe that, rather than reporting on packaging levels across the industry as a whole, it would be better to report on each company, as this would empower consumers to make informed choices about which companies to support by buying their products. Assessing the industry as a whole allows some to companies to carry on being wasteful while others make great reductions. I also believe that, although the Courtauld Commitment is certainly a step in the right direction, given the urgency of the matter we ought to be looking at creating enforceable laws rather than voluntary agreements. Jo's news stories on the Courtauld Commitment28/07/08 Packaging reduction marred by lack of transparency Easter Egg Packaging CampaignEaster eggs offer a prime example of over-packaging - a small chocolate egg, and an unnecessary amount of cardboard, plastic and foil. However, they are getting better. I have carried out a study each year for the last three years to find out just how excess Easter egg packaging is and how the confectionary companies to account. The market for Easter eggs is certainly not the only one where excess packaging is a problem, but it provides a good opportunity to assess how the actions and attitudes of leading food manufacturers have changed each year. My 2009 report showed that Easter egg packaging has been significantly reduced this year, but there is still further to go. Of the 10 eggs I surveyed, the Lindt Easter egg was the worst performer for the third year running, having made no significant changes to its packaging at all, with the egg still taking up only 9% of its box. The company who showed the most improvement since 2008 was Nestlé, while the packaging for Terry's eggs actually increased. Despite the improvements, however, in some cases the volume packaging has been reduced at the expense of keeping it recyclable. 
To download my annual reports on Easter eggs packaging, please use the following links: Jo's news stories on Easter egg packaging27/03/10 Do you want chocolate or packaging this Easter? 09/04/09 Easter egg packaging slashed by a third 15/01/09 Jo welcomes Easter packaging cuts 20/03/08 Jo Swinson challenges Easter packaging offenders 02/04/07 Easter eggs worst for excess packaging External news stories on Easter egg packaging
29/03/10 Nestlé and Sainsbury's Easter eggs come out on top of MP's report (Packaging News) 27/03/10 Sainsbury's has least recyclable Easter egg packaging (Environmental Expert) 27/03/10 Easter eggs have too much packaging, study finds (Daily Telegraph) 27/03/10 Egg buyers shell out for 'wasteful' packaging (Scotsman) 27/03/10 Crackdown on Easter egg packaging (STV) 11/04/09 MP shames chocolate makers who over-egg Easter packaging (The Herald) 11/04/09 Eggs-cellent progress made on cutting down packaging (The Scotsman) 10/04/09 A simple case of over-egging (BBC News) 09/04/09 Easter eggs: more packaging than chocolate (The Independent) 18/02/09 Sweet makers cut down on the packaging as Easter eggs go green (Daily Mail) 20/03/08 How your Easter treats come in 8,000 TONS of waste packaging (Daily Mail) 20/03/08 Easter egg makers fail to cut packaging (The Independent) 05/04/07 What a load of rubbish, says Lib Dem MP (The Guardian) 31/03/07 The great Easter packaging eggstravaganza (The Independent) Take ActionSign up for campaign news: There are many ways that you can take action to support Jo's excess packaging campaign:
More of Jo's news stories on excess packaging22/12/09 Time to wrap up excess packaging for good 16/09/08 MPs back Lush packaging drive 26/07/07 Excess Packaging campaign comes to Milngavie 12/07/07 Watch one company's attempt to tackle excess packaging 01/02/07 Supermarkets must take responsibility on packaging External News Articles23/12/09 Lib Dems call for action on Christmas packaging (Packaging News) 07/09/09 Scottish MP rebukes promotion of packaging waste regulations (Packaging News) 28/02/08 Let's talk a load of old rubbish (The Scotsman) 22/11/07 Protestors litter stores with excess packaging (Scotland on Sunday) 26/10/07 Used packaging sent back to shops (BBC News) 27/04/07 MPs sign up to the campaign against excess packaging (The Independent) 12/02/07 WI to renew campaign against packaging (The Independent) 09/02/07 Politicians sign Commons motion to back campaign against waste (The Independent) 02/02/07 MPs and retailers rally behind campaign to reduce packaging (The Independent) External MediaRadio 4: Costing the Earth - Jo talks about excess packaging Jo's featured linksWRAPWRAP is an organised which works with local authorities, business and households to prevent waste, increase recycling and develop markets for recycled and sustainable products. WRAP has been one of the leading campaigning organisations in the fight against excess packaging. Trading Standards FAQsThis is a resource produced by Hampshire County Council which the laws which govern excess packaging and how they enforced. FAQs by Trading Standards on excess packaging Top tips on cutting excess packagingThis resource, produced by BBC Food, explains simple steps you can take to avoid excess packaging and to help put a stop to it. Seven Top Tips on Cutting Excess Packaging from the BBC Packaging NewsThe best source of up to date news on the UK packaging industry. Petition the EU against excess packagingA French group hoping to raise 1 million signatures for tougher EU legislation on overpackaging Printed and hosted by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY.Published and promoted by Jo Swinson, 4 Springfield House, Emerson Road, Bishopbriggs G64 1QE The views expressed are those of the party, not of the service provider. |