Yoghurts and single serve foods containers - Cannot be recycled. It´s all about size

 

The problem:  

Size and material are two of the biggest factors for recyclability: in general, the smaller a package and the greater its mix of materials, the less recyclable it is. While consumers and businesses may think that sleek, recyclable containers are sustainable, experts note that single-serving foods, including yoghurt and coffee cups, are especially problematic. Their small size and – in the case of yoghurt cups, difficult-to-recycle plastic – tend to make them a tough sell for recyclers.

Who does it? 

Most common single-serve foods, including cups of coffee, violate the material and size rule. Yoghurt, especially, is a problem – the majority of yoghurt companies, ranging from giants like Danone and Chobani, to smaller independent producers, use packaging that is difficult to recycle. 

Unfortunately sweet wrappers fall in this category, in fact anything small is sifted out and burnt.

What is the solution? On the recycling end, advances in technology could lead to new sorting machines and more sustainable polymers. Alternately, some companies, including Unilever, have redesigned their packaging to make it more sustainable. On the consumer end, many coffee chains, including Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, allow customers to use reuseable coffee mugs. 

So yet again it is due to the producers of all these things to get their acts together and redesign the packaging.

There are some yoghurts available in glass jars, which I like because the jars can then be reused or recycled!

Another option is compostable, biodegradable packaging. Some supermarkets, like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, are increasingly utilizing compostable and biodegradeable containers. Unfortunately, this is still uncommon. Green-conscious consumers can also opt to purchase larger size items and transport them in reusable or washable containers. 

It seems like everyday we are finding out that the things we thought could be recycled, actually cannot be. So another item to go in with the general household waste.  What a joke.

The blog song for today is: "Smoke on the water" by Deep Purple.

TTFN

 

 

The problem: Size and material are two of the biggest factors for recyclability: in general, the smaller a package and the greater its mix of materials, the less recyclable it is. While consumers and businesses may think that sleek, recyclable containers are sustainable, experts note that single-serving foods, including yogurt and coffee cups, are especially problematic. Their small size and – in the case of yogurt cups, difficult-to-recycle plastic – tend to make them a tough sell for recyclers.

Who does it? Most common single-serve foods, including cups of coffee, violate the material and size rule. Yogurt, especially, is a problem – the majority of yogurt companies, ranging from giants like Dannon and Chobani, to smaller independent producers, use packaging that is difficult to recycle.

What is the solution? On the recycling end, advances in technology could lead to new sorting machines and more sustainable polymers. Alternately, some companies, including Unilever, have redesigned their packaging to make it more sustainable. On the consumer end, many coffee chains, including Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, allow customers to use reuseable coffee mugs.

Another option is compostable, biodegradable packaging. Some supermarkets, like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, are increasingly utilizing compostable and biodegradeable containers. Unfortunately, this is still uncommon. Green-conscious consumers can also opt to purchase larger size items and transport them in reusable or washable containers.

Greenpeace have taken the case against Ecoembes to the European Commission at Brussels

Here is the latest actions carried out by Greenpeace Spain regarding the terrible situation of our recycling system I have translated from their webpage.

"We bring Ecoembes waste management (not) to Brussels Last week the European Commission accepted the complaint filed by Greenpeace, along with 15 other groups from all over the country, for non-compliance with the waste management targets set by Brussels. 

European regulations required Spain to reuse and recycle 50% of municipal waste in 2020, an objective that the complaint to the European Commission shows that it will not be met, since it is below 35%. In our garbage can many things go, including organic matter (40%), but another important part (almost 25%) is made up of light plastic containers, cans, cartons, paper, cardboard… managed by Ecoembes; and glass, managed by Ecovidrio. 

The rest are other minor fractions (wood, textile, others). It is evident that each fraction has its characteristics and peculiarities, and consequences for health and the environment. 

And one of the main agents who has not carried out the task entrusted to it by law for two decades has been Ecoembes, responsible for managing the yellow cube and almost half the blue one. The contamination caused by their disposable containers is another of the pandemics that our planet suffers. A silent pandemic that, day by day, is revealed to us thanks to scientific studies, is of an unimaginable magnitude.

For this reason, the complaint accepted by the European Union not only reflects the neglect of the Government of Spain, but also calls into question the very integrated waste management systems, such as Ecoembes (and Ecovidrio). 

An entity that has been doing an excellent job of greenwashing, marketing and advertising campaigns for two decades, but deplorable when it comes to preventing, reusing and incredibly recycling less than 25% of its packaging (according to the latest data provided by the Balearic Government). 

We hope that Brussels can put some order in the chaotic situation of waste management in Spain. We are at an excellent moment for the central government to change the system, make it better and really "circulate". It is easy for it, the new waste law is in imminent parliamentary procedure, to be approved. 

Madam Fourth Vice President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition of the Government of Spain, do you accept the challenge from Greenpeace and the rest of the entities?"

 This case has been gathering momentum for quite some time now and watching it unfold is very very important.  It has been awful to discover that despite all our efforts to recycle the company responsible for carrying it out has been deceiving us.  It seems that they have been taking money for something they have not been doing.  Is this not a type of fraud?  What we need now is for genuine action to sort out the mess we now find ourselves in, it is really imperative that this happens.  

In the meantime I am continuing to cut down on my plastic consumption along with making my own stuff!  The results of the Soap Nuts experiments have been outstanding!  I have been using them primarily for washing clothes, washing dishes, cleaning floors and all purpose cleaning products.  I have tried them in shower wash and shampoo but they were a bit of a flop!

The blog song for today is "when the sun goes down" by the Arctic Monkeys

TTFN

 

106 kg of plastic collected up at a beach here in Menorca

Last Sunday 14th February a wonderful bunch of people went out early in the morning to go and clean up a beach only accessible by boat.  It is part of the work that Per la Mar Viva carry out every year.  Unfortunately I was unable to go with them, but hopefully an opportunity will arise for me to do so.

Here is what they collected:

Some of those tubes are enormous!

All of this was collected up in one morning.   As you can see a lot of the plastic looks like waste from construction, I think it is pretty difficult to understand how this amount of stuff ended up in the sea! The boat I can imagine that due to the heavy storms we have had it just got battered on the rocks and fell into pieces.

 

Per La Mar Viva are involved with the Menorca Preservation Fund who recently provided their monthly newsletter giving the following update:

With your support, in 2020 we were able to...

Support 3 scientific studies in the field of marine conservation.
Support new local projects with + € 50,000.
Support 4 outreach and awareness initiatives.
Lead of the creation of the Plastic Free Menorca Alliance and support its first steps.
Avoid 20 tons of local produce from going to waste during lockdown, by purchasing from our local farmers and distributing it to 140 vulnerable families.
Support 15 local entities with their environmental projects.
Collaborate with 3 farms in the improvement of their water management systems.
Add 3 more local companies that wish to work in a more sustainable way and at the same time support us in our mission.
Extract more than 1.5 tons of waste from the sea.

 

And here we go again! We'd like to share with you all the four new environmental projects supported by MEPF

The projects, closely linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, will be carried out during 2021 and have a total value of € 20,000, of which 60% will be directly financed by the Menorca Preservation Fund.

On the one hand, the Societat Ornitològica de Menorca (Menorca's ornithological society) has been the recipient of the first of these grants in 2021, for which the MEPF is supporting a study of the feeding areas of the paíños, a seabird whose colony, located in the Isla del Aire Marine Reserve (Sant Lluís), will provide important knowledge. It will help to protect these and other birds that nest in Mediterranean coastal areas. These small birds are believed to be able to travel up to 1,000km in 3 days in order to feed.

On the other hand, the local radio station Ràdio Far Cultural has launched its “KM0” initiative, a new radio project. In the format of an interview with different prominent environmental actors, the program seeks to reach young audiences in order to raise awareness among them about the need to manage fresh water responsibly or to consume local and seasonal products, to name two examples of programs already broadcasted and that are available on their web site esfarcultural.com.

At the same time, the Surf and Clean Association has been the recipient of the third recently approved grant. “Learning through surfing” will be its pilot project in Menorca and which will take place in Ciutadella, with 160 students but aiming to implement the initiative permanently on the island. The objective is to raise awareness amongst primary school students regarding the respect for our marine environments and how important it is to live closely linked to the sea, preserving life in the oceans and avoiding plastic pollution and other dangers in the marine environment.

Lastly, the MEPF has approved the GoZeroWaste project, in close collaboration with the Plastic Free Menorca Alliance. Through this project, the MEPF seeks to promote the challenge of eliminating or drastically reducing our waste generation through the use of an APP linking to local businesses, creating challenges, etc.

So all in all there are some fantastic things going on here on Menorca.

 

 

I really like the look of the GoZeroWaste project, that looks great, exactly what I am interested in and am trying to do.. Less waste!

The blog song for today is: "Last Nite" by The Strokes.

TTFN

The top 10 things found in the sea

Find out key facts about plastic in the ocean with our infographics, as well discover their impact and how the EU is acting to reduce plastic litter in the seas.

The results of today’s single-use, throw-away plastic culture can be seen on sea shores and in oceans everywhere. Plastic waste is increasingly polluting the oceans and according to one estimation, by 2050 the oceans could contain more plastic than fish by weight.

New EU rules, adopted by MEPs on 27 March 2019, tackle lost fishing gear and  the 10 single-use plastic products most widely found on European shores. Together these two groups account for 70% of marine litter. These new rules were also approved by the Council in May 2019.

 

Infographic on key facts and issues caused by plastic waste in the ocean  

Problem

Plastic doesn’t just make a mess on the shores, it also hurts marine animals who get entangled in larger pieces and mistake smaller pieces for food. Ingestion of plastic particles can prevent them from digesting normal food and might attract toxic chemical pollutants to their organisms.

Humans eat plastic through the food chain. How this affects their health is unknown.

Sea litter causes economic losses for sectors and communities dependent on the sea but also for manufacturers: only about 5% of the value of plastic packaging stays in the economy – the rest is literally dumped, showing the need for a approach focussed more on recycling and reusing materials.

Infographic on plastic and non-plastic marine litter by type  

What needs to be done?

The most effective way to tackle the problem is to prevent more plastic getting in the ocean.

Single-use plastic items are the biggest single group of waste found on sea shores: products such as plastic cutlery, drink bottles, cigarette butts or cotton buds make up almost half of all sea litter.

 

List of top 10 single use plastic items found on beaches  

The new measures

A total ban is proposed for single-use plastic items for which alternatives in other materials are already readily available: cotton buds, cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers and balloon sticks. MEPs also added oxo-degradable ( Oxo biodegradable materials degrade by oxidation, being stimulated by the chemical additives) plastic products and fast food containers made out of polystyrene to the list .

For the rest, a range of other measures was approved:

• Extended producer responsibility, especially for tobacco companies, in order to strengthen the application of the polluter pays principle. This new regime will also apply to fishing gear, to ensure that manufacturers, and not fishermen, bear the costs of collecting nets lost at sea.
• Collection target of 90% by 2029 for drink bottles (for example through deposit refund systems)
• A 25% target for recycled content in plastic bottles by 2025 and 30% by 2030
• Labelling requirements for tobacco products with filters, plastic cups, sanitary towels and wet wipes to alert users to their correct disposal
• Awareness-raising

For fishing gear, which accounts for 27% of sea litter, producers would need to cover the costs of waste management from port reception facilities. EU countries should also collect at least 50% of lost fishing gear per year and recycle 15% of it by 2025.

This looks very promising from the European side of things, I will be looking into what the rest of the world are doing to tackle the problem.

The blog song for today is: "Love me tender" by Elvis Presley

TTFN