The next decade will be shaped by how governments, businesses and citizens respond to an environmental crisis. Philip Chadwick reports from the Foodservice Packaging Association’s Environment Seminar in Londo.

With fires raging in Australia last month, the climate emergency has gone up several notches and world leaders are under pressure over how to deal with an alarming crisis.

This all has ramifications for packaging. Plastic pollution plus a desire to reduce consumption is part of the challenge and foodservice is under pressure like never before. Delegates at the Foodservice Packaging Association’s (FPA) annual Environment Seminar heard how their sector will be changing, whether they like it or not.

There are solutions and ideas as to how to keep up with the shifting market but critics argue that this isn’t enough or that unintended consequences will crop up. Delegates left the event under no illusions that legislation would drive the direction of travel.

Professor Margaret Bates, professor of sustainable waste management at the University of Northampton, said: “Climate change is now part of our daily lives but there is confusion and a lack of alignment on people’s behaviour and what they say they care about.”

“The game’s afoot,” said Steve Lee, an independent consultant working in resources and waste management. Lee was previously head of waste and the Environment Agency and chief executive of the Chartered Institution of Waste Management. “One thing that has hit me is the speed of change that you all have to go through,” he added. “The wave is not going to wait for you. You have to be part of these changes.”

Speed of change

The change was spelt out in stark terms by Eamonn Bates, secretary general of Pack2Go, Europe’s convenience food packaging association. He lobbies in Brussels and was blunt on how fresh EU legislation will hit the foodservice packaging industry, particularly through the Single Use Directive.

“I believe the single-use packaging sector, as we know it, is dead,” said Bates. “We did too little, too late [a decade ago] so here we sit. We need to contemplate radical change. A lot of legislators are driven by emotion not reason and this is the case with the Single Use Directive.”

He noted that the directive will tackle any product that is defined as being single-use plastic – even if a paper cup incorporates a plastic film, that will be defined as plastic packaging. EU-wide bans cover products such as cutlery, plates and drinking straws but Bates warned that member states will be allowed to go further. In France, a whole host of single-use packaging formats – such as plastic cups and lids – are being banned and he added that the UK could go down a similar route. Bates said that just because the UK was leaving the EU, it didn’t mean that large chunks of the directive won’t find its way into EU law – the chances are that the government could go further.

“This legislation will be a minefield,” Bates said. “My concern is that we will have a total mess because this legislation was agreed in seven months flat. No other legislation has been passed at this speed. It’s impossible to implement in practice.”

UK regulator to have teeth

The UK government is forging ahead with its Environment Bill. Mark Pawsey, Conservative MP for Rugby – and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Packaging – said that the bill is likely to be a “little bit tougher”. He added that the government plans to set up a regulator – the Office for Environmental Protection.

“I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” said Pawsey. “Regulators do sometimes get the reputation of being ineffective. They get too close to the sector they are regulating. I hope this regulator has teeth. It’s also an opportunity for the packaging industry to engage.”
Defra’s deputy director for resources and waste Chris Preston outlined to delegates the challenges that the UK faces. Last year, the government launched four consultations on: deposit return schemes (DRS); Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR); consistency in household waste collections; and the Treasury’s proposed tax on single-use packaging. Preston appeared to support Eamonn Bates’ opinion that the UK could do more than the EU post-Brexit.

“An advantage of leaving the EU is that we might want to achieve the same objective as the EU but in a different way,” he said. “We are likely to mirror Europe but if we can go further and faster then we will.”

He added that both EPR reform and the setting up of a DRS was in the government’s election manifesto as well as the pledge to ban exports to non-OECD countries.

Rebecca Sudworth, director of policy at the Food Standards Agency, added that following Brexit the regulator would be taking over food laws and the UK would be “regulating in its own right”.

“We want to see the packaging industry work together so we can all make a difference,” she said. “What happens after the transition stage very much depends on what trade deal we do with the EU but the basic principles will remain.”

Scottish strategy

Scotland’s strategy was set out by Janet McVea, head of the Zero Waste Unit in the Environmental Quality and Circular Economy Division at the Scottish Government. Like Preston, McVea said that the administration’s goal is to match or exceed the EU’s directive, as well as working closely with the UK government on EPR reform.

“DRS is the headline update in Scotland,” she said. “We have begun legislative scrutiny and the ambition is to introduce an inclusive scheme that includes glass.”

The sudden rush on legislative action over the last 18 months has been pushed by NGOs. High profile organisations, Extinction Rebellion (XR) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), were represented at the seminar and had a clear message to delegates.

“We are activists making a difference,” said Neil Sheppeck from Lambeth XR. “This is not about gluing yourself to trains or spraying red paint on buildings – there are things we can be doing in a non-violent way that can make a difference.”

Paula Chin, sustainable materials specialist at WWF, was frank in how she viewed the future, and highlighted one key trend. “When are businesses going to step up and show leadership? We are focusing too heavily on end of life – recycling will not lead us to salvation any time soon,” she said. “The global economy is 8.6% circular. It means we are losing over 90% of the planet’s resources to support our lifestyle.

“Government can play an invaluable role that encourages circularity.”

Chin pointed out that reusable packaging should be playing a greater role. Rachel Edmonds, customer proposition manager at Waitrose addressed delegates on the retailer’s recent approach to reducing packaging and encouraging consumers to bring their own containers and bottles into the store.

The supermarket has been trialling its ‘Waitrose Unpacked’ initiative, designed to allow customers to shop using reusable packaging. Four stores have been trialling the initiative.

“We tested ideas for 11 weeks,” she said. “It’s not about demonising plastic. That’s not the best way. Our stores included a reduce, reuse and refill hub. In our Oxford Botley Road store, we reduced single-use plastic by 98% and overall plastic reduction was 41%.”

The reaction from shoppers was generally positive, with 90% saying that they would shop ‘unpacked’ again. Edmonds added that some brought a whole trolly loads of containers to stock up on food sold loose. But the risks of selling loose were highlighted by Professor Louise Manning, professor of agri-food and supply chain security at the Royal Agricultural University. Packaging’s role in keeping food safe and hygienic should not be overlooked.

“If we go packaging free, then we will lose control in the supply chain,” she said and warned that such a move would make it difficult to label products effectively and clearly communicate the content of products.

Packaging still protects

There was also the risk of contamination and that retailers could enter a whole minefield of litigation if anything goes wrong. The Food Standard Agency’s Sudworth said that reusable packaging needs to be safe and that communication to the consumer was vital.

“If the product is being used multiple times then it needs to be clear as to how long that container is expected to last,” she said. “It also needs to allow adequate washing and sterilisation.”

Manning added: “Without packaging how can we have a product recall? Our packaging is serving us with a huge range of benefits. It’s important that we don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. We want to be responsible with packaging but we should not forget the reason for packaging in the first place.

“The Waitrose customer does not reflect the general population. There are 13 million people who are living in food poverty and could not afford reusable containers. We will have a two-tier food chain and I believe we have to include everyone on this journey. There are people feeling pious that they are saving the planet. We need to widen this conversation.”

How that happens will be shaped by legislators over the coming years. This will be a decade of change for the foodservice packaging industry – but how many consumers and businesses will be able to keep up with the wave of sustainable change?