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89% - the share of countries that signed up to the Paris Agreement that are failing to incorporate commitments to curb food waste into their NDCs, according to an analysis by NGO Wrap.

The weekend saw the fourth thematic day of COP27 focused on Adaptation & Agriculture, whereby developments and discussions centred around food systems, soil health, land use and more. The day of discussions has been viewed as critical against the backdrop of a global food crisis. With extreme weather wreaking havoc on crops, raging food inflation and the war in Ukraine, countries across the world are feeling the effects on our global food resources.

From plastic novelties, costumes and decorations, items around the different seasonal celebrations and festivities are often bought to allow maximum convenience which comes with an invisible price tag - single use plastic that is not recycled.

The consultations published last December by DEFRA and the Treasury have a deadline for submissions of May 12^th and 13^th.  They concern how England should manage its waste collections and treatment; how the UK should manage its packaging waste; and how the UK should tax plastics.  Within the scope of the consultations on packaging waste, the Government is consulting on two questions- how to make the producers pay for all the costs of managing the waste they create (known as Extended Producer Responsibility or EPR).  In the UK our EPR system only covers approximately 10% of the cost of managing the waste of items put on the market, leaving the other 90% of the costs falling on our Local Authorities.  This is very different from the ‘Green Dot’ system adopted across Europe that covers full costs. The other question being asked is whether and how to introduce a deposit-return scheme (DRS) for drink containers (bottles and cans) to reduce littering and increase recycling.

 

Think differently, the now infamous advertising campaign produced by Apple between 1997 and 2002 highlighted that people who see things differently change things:

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

*Steve Jobs, Apple 1997. 

On the 18^th February the Government published a series of documents asking for the public views on key areas of waste management. Resident expert David Newman has compiled the top five things you need to know from the consultations. You can find out more and have your say by visiting the Gov.uk 

*As many powers are already devolved to Scotland and Wales, these consultations mainly concern England.

I was recently asked to present at the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (formerly BIFM) AGM about the plastic’s ‘crisis’.  A subject that I had written about for World Environment day last year. In the article, I called on organisations to really think about, and investigate what happens to their wastes, rather than implementing a ‘quick fix’ solution that could do more harm than good. 

Where in Scotland does the public sector, private sector, community, investors and third sector come together to build innovative, industry defining ideas? The answer is CivTech®.

A unique accelerator programme run by the Scottish Government that empowers public sector organisations to lay out specific challenges for private sector companies to solve. 

My name is Jack and I’m developing our answer to Challenge 6, set by National Services Scotland, “How can we transform the re-use of products for NHS Scotland?”. It was a pleasure to talk with Derek Mackay MSP (Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy & Fair Work) about Scotland's growing circular economy...but I wish I had worn a smarter jumper(!)

Ditto Sustainability has been chosen to transform the re-use of products for NHS Scotland. Reducing waste, providing cost savings, and developing skilled jobs; stimulating the Scottish circular economy.

 

Shocking news emerged that the UK’s leading independent provider of healthcare waste management had been failing to dispose of 350 tonnes of medical waste, which included human body parts; sparking a major national incident and highlighting the importance of the waste duty of care.

This blog explains what the ‘Duty of Care’ is, providing you with practical guidance on how to meet your waste duty of care requirements. The ‘Duty of Care’ applies to anyone who produces, carries, keeps, dispose of, treats, imports or has control of waste. This process begins at the point you intend to discard something and produce waste. So more than likely it will apply to you and your business….