“UK is heading towards a perfect storm of waste problems as Brexit looms,” says plastics packaging expert
27 Feb 2019 --- The UK waste industry is in a “dire state” and the problems could worsen after Brexit. This is according to Joanna Stephenson, Managing Director of PHD Marketing, who spoke to PackagingInsights during Packaging Innovations 2019. Stephenson is calling for a “holistic approach” to the problem, which prioritizes consumer education, improved infrastructure and designed-in recyclability. In a wide ranging interview, Stephenson also stresses that packaging is a “green technology” that must do more to market itself coherently as a sustainable benefit to society.
PackagingInsights: What is the most important message that the UK packaging industry is trying to communicate?
Stephenson: What it is conveying and what it needs to convey are two different things right now. What it should be conveying is that packaging is a green technology – protecting and preserving the precious resources that go into the products we pack. However, as a collective industry, we seem to be caught up in defending plastics and fixing misinformation instead.
Joanna Stephenson, Managing Director of PHD Marketing speaking at Packaging Innovations, taking place this week in Birmingham, UK.
PackagingInsights.com: What is your opinion of the recently announced government consultations to “overhaul the waste system?” Do you think the government is acting quickly and effectively enough?
Stephenson: The consultation is long overdue and welcomed, I’m sure, by many in the packaging industry. We must work together to deliver a fit for purpose waste infrastructure where packaging can be suitably designed, consumers can engage and understand how to recycle/reuse/reduce their product waste and we can operate sustainably as a joined-up industry.
The situation today is dire – too many systems, insufficient commercial markets for recyclate, lack of investment and general consumer confusion is holding the country back and with Brexit looming, the imminent demise of landfill capacity and the inability to either incinerate or export, we are heading for a “perfect storm” of waste problems if the issue is not holistically addressed.
PackagingInsights: Within the government consultations are plans to implement an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and a tax on plastics which contain less than 30 percent recycled plastic. Which of these strategies do you think will be most effective?
Stephenson: Government intervention is always helpful when the free market seemingly cannot sort an issue out. However, I don’t personally believe any of these strategies are particularly balanced or useful.
The waste system in the UK is facing many challenges, including the potential impact from Brexit.
There is already a version of EPR in place which packaging manufacturers adhere to. Those companies that can, do. I’m not sure extending the concept mandates to those that can’t, such as flexible packaging manufacturers, is effective based on today’s technology.
The cost of implementing a DRS nationwide via government investment far exceeds the value recovery. The model doesn’t make sense unless retailers are prepared to step in and provide discounts/promotional strategies to drive brand value. The cost has to be carried somewhere.
The tax on non-recyclable plastics ignores the benefits of certain packaging types and assumes all packaging must be recycled. All packaging formats have environmental virtues and this skews the scenario without understanding the implications for the waste structure or addressing the consequences of forcing this approach. It’s probably the “least worst” of the scenarios but it doesn’t help drive change. It just forces cost on to a sector of the market (most likely flexible packaging manufacturers) without acknowledging the significant benefits that packaging format brings in contrast with many others.
PackagingInsights: Is there a danger that the public will lose sight of the sustainability benefits of plastics because of the growing tide of anti-plastic sentiment?
Plastic packaging is being continuously vilified and the view of the product is demonized at this point in comparison to carton, paperboard or renewable materials, according to Stephenson.Stephenson: That has already happened. Plastic packaging is being continuously vilified and the view of the product is demonized at this point in comparison to carton, paperboard or renewable materials. If consumers understood that, for a typical family of four, simply using one tank of petrol in their car less per year is the equivalent of their total annual use of plastic packaging, the situation might improve. Plastic packaging is being called out because of poor human behavior (littering), lack of appropriate waste infrastructure on a global scale and an inability on the part of the plastics industry to put an effective consumer education campaign together. Media hype and misinformation has led to the focus on plastic packaging being completely disproportionate to the reality and we have a lot to fix as a result.
PackagingInsights: What are the aims and ambitions of Women in Packaging UK and how do you measure your success to date?
Stephenson: We have a three-pillar strategy: To attract, support and recognize women in the sector. To work with the education system in the UK to develop packaging curricula and support the development of in-house training and education programs, to support women with networking, mentoring and coaching and finally to recognize those women who do break through and lead in technical and senior management roles. We would love to host a recognition program to achieve the latter vision.
At Packaging Innovations 2019, Joanna Stephenson will facilitate a panel discussion on gender diversity in the packaging sector on behalf of Women In Packaging UK. The hope is to further highlight the issue of attraction and retention of women into the sector, as well as the lack of female representation in the scientific, technical and leadership functions.
By Joshua Poole
