Recycle or Reuse Plastic?
September 30, 2013 at 5:11 PM
At the recent Liberal Democrat Party conference in Glasgow, party leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced proposed plans for the introduction of a five pence charge for each plastic bag you use in a supermarket. The scheme is designed to reduce the environmental impact of improperly disposed of plastics, a problem that’s close to our hearts here at H&O Plastics.
Plastic waste such as carrier bags and food packaging litter our countryside, pollute our coastlines and endanger our wildlife. A staggering 240,000 tonnes of plastic a year ends up in our landfills. By 2017, the government aims to have increased the amount of plastic recycled to 42%. It’s a bold and ambitious target and one that we are strongly in favour of. But where does the new charge for plastic bags fit in to this goal and is it really the best answer to such a complex problem?
Lets start by looking at the facts. By 2015, all major supermarkets will have to charge you five pence for each carrier bag you use. The money raised from this scheme will be passed on to environmental charities like the Campaign to Protect Rural England. Wales and Northern Ireland already have a very similar scheme in place, and Scotland is due to follow suit in 2014. Northern Ireland has seen an estimated fall of 80% in the use of single use plastic bags since the levy was introduced. Several large supermarkets in England already offer loyalty points for using your own bags, and Marks and Spencer have been charging customers for carrier bags for several years. Although the new scheme has been widely praised by environmentalists, some have suggested that the government are ignoring the wider problem of the country’s poor record for green initiatives.
Here at H&O Plastics, we always keep a keen eye on emerging trends in the industry and new ways to make our daily operations as green as they can be.
When it comes to recycling, we come down firmly in favour of reusing plastic items. That’s just one of the reasons that we make our products so robust and versatile. So next time you go to throw away one of your plastic buckets, have a think about what else you could use it for. Buckets are great for storing kid’s toys, screws and nails, and a hundred other household items. You can turn our buckets in to flower pots, garden lanterns and you can even use them to brew beer. And if you do decide to chuck a plastic item away, always make sure you look to see if it’s recyclable. Many types of plastic are now widely recycled and most local recycling facilities offer plastic recycling services.
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RL Plastics Ltd | Britannia House | Dock Road | Birkenhead | CH41 1DF
T: 0151 639 0002 | F: 0151 639 0006 | E: sales@ho-plastics.co.uk
