The government set an objective in 2018 to ensure less food waste is sent to landfill by introducing consistent and nationwide collections for household food waste, outlined in their Resources and Waste Strategy.
Earlier this year Charlotte Morton, ADBA Chief Executive said “In England, 50% of local councils are currently collecting food waste separately or as part of their green waste collection. However, still some 2.3 million tonnes of household-produced food waste goes to either landfill or sewer, where it emits harmful methane gas as it breaks down”. A recent consultation on household and business recycling consistency found that when all local authorities provide kerbside food waste collection, the amount of food waste collected could increase by 1.35m tonnes by 2029 – reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 1.25 million tonnes per year.
Further guidance is expected to be released which will highlight how councils will collectively tackle the containment and collection of food waste. Most local councils that currently offer this service provide food waste bins, or caddy’s, to be used in conjunction with some type of liner, or no liner at all, so which type of liner gives the best results? A recent study, conducted by Sancroft returned some interesting results.
Before looking at the result of the research for containing food waste, it should first be known that all food waste is de-packed at Anaerobic Digestion plants. All containers and contaminants are removed to be appropriately treated.
Often considered a greener option, the study showed paper was a highly disliked option by domestic users, who found using paper bags or newspaper to line their caddies very messy and unreliable. The paper often disintegrated when in contact with wet food waste. Traditional plastic liners were the more cost-effective option, especially, for example, a reused single use carrier bag, but caused contamination issues in both composting and AD plants. Apart from the bag itself, it was thought that users seemed more likely to include plastic waste to match the bag material. At first, not including a liner seemed intuitively to be the most effective alternative, but in reality it was not the preferred choice because users had to factor in the time and resources needed to keep the caddy clean and odour free. Compostable plastic liners out-performed all other options, resulting in significant increases in the quality and quantity of waste collected, with fewer contamination issues, the initial higher costs were outweighed by the increase in volume and quality which contributed to the overall success of the collection schemes.
Cromwell Polythene works with councils across the UK, supplying products made from 100% compostable ‘Ecopond’ material, both from stock and on a made to order basis. These products conform to the UK and European standard BS EN13432, meaning that they can be broken down and metabolised by microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi and ensuring that the composting process is completed within recognised parameters. These parameters ensure that the products being tested can be converted into water, CO2, and biomass under normal composting conditions and at a rate comparable to that of cellulose.
Paul Fleetwood, Director at Cromwell explains, “oxo-degradable, sometimes referred to as oxo-biodegradable, is often mis-sold as compostable. Oxo-degradable bags are made using traditional plastic films which carry a degradable additive. These additives are designed to break down in the presence of oxygen and cause the plastic surrounding them to fragment into imperceptibly small pieces, giving the illusion that they have biodegraded. The controversial nature of oxo-degradable products has resulted in bans in several countries because they contribute to microplastic pollution and can undermine plastics recycling efforts if they end up contaminating legitimate waste streams”. Paul added, “consumers should check that compostable products are genuine and conform to the European standard BS EN13432, certified by a recognised accreditation scheme such as DinCertco, Vinçotte, or TUV Austria, and carry the European Bioplastics’ “compostable seedling logo” with a unique 7p product license number.
Why should you check the credentials of a compostable product? The European Bioplastics (EUBP) has noticed an increase in malpractice when referring to the European standard for industrial composting, EN 13432. The BBIA has said recent misuse cases comprise of “outright false claim that additive-mediated plastics comply with EN 13432. In other cases, additive producers aim to piggyback on the good reputation of EN 13432 by referring to only parts of the standard”. Cromwell Marketing Manager Joshua Wood backed this claim by stating, “If a producer claims to meet these standards, the product must meet every aspect. If a product does not carry any certification mark there is no guarantee of it being compostable, Cromwell supports regulatory changes to help enforce this.”
The Competition & Markets Authority has recently completed a consultation on their draft guidance on environmental claims. The guidance highlights all environmental claims must be truthful, accurate, clear, unambiguous, fair, meaningful, substantiated and not omit or hide important relevant information and consider the full life cycle of the product. The guidance also explains “If a business does not comply with consumer protection law, the CMA and other bodies, such as Trading Standards Services, can bring court proceedings, with a potential fine of up to 10% of global turnover. In some cases, businesses may be required to pay redress to any consumers harmed by the breach of consumer protection law. The ASA could also take action against misleading advertisements that contravene the CAP and BCAP Codes.” The CMA guidance is scheduled to be published in September and a compliance campaign is due to run from September 2021 to December 2021, followed by compliance monitoring of environmental claims from January 2022 onwards.
James Lee, Managing Director of Cromwell summarised the topic with the finishing statement, “the introduction of a separate and mandatory food waste collection in 2023 has been a long-awaited and well-received addition to the waste management infrastructure. It will increase the amount of food waste that is collected and appropriately treated; however, it must be complemented with compostable liners to increase volume and quality, by reducing contamination, from households and businesses. Legislation will play an integral part in ensuring the success of changes resulting from the governments consultations on Consistency of Collections and help to eliminate false claims of environmental credentials. Overall, this is an exciting time with the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility and wider investment in the country’s waste management and recycling infrastructure.”
