The drive for horticultural waste reduction accelerates considerably this month with the introduction of the new agricultural waste regulations. With the deadline for registering exemptions about to expire, a new era is emerging for the way waste is handled on farm.
Growers have until May 15 to register free with the Environment Agency for a variety of exemptions. These include using tyres on a silage clamp; chipping and shredding plant material; clearing mud and debris from watercourses such as streams and ditches; using a compactor bin to crush waste including plastic silage wrap; burning naturally occurring plant matter; and disposing of spoiled crops on land where they are produced, eg rotten potatoes.
Growers who still need to register can do so through the government’s Whole Farm Approach website at www.wholefarm.defra.gov.uk. The site was created with the intention of making it easier for growers and farmers to deal with Defra and its partners. It was designed to reduce paperwork, and also offer advice on how to fill out forms.
In April 2006 Defra published its Food Industry Sustainability Strategy (FISS), challenging the food manufacturing sector to reduce its own levels of waste by 15-20 percent by 2010.
Picking up on this, retailers have announced numerous efforts to cut back on food packaging of late. Earlier this year Asda declared that it would be selling more loose fruit as part of a bid to reduce surplus packaging by 25 percent overall over the next year, while this month Tesco’s chief executive Sir Terry Leahy pledged that his company would also be cutting packaging by 25 percent and providing consumers with clear on-pack information on recycling.
WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) is working with both retailers and suppliers to develop a common approach to communicating with customers about the recycling and reuse of packaging.
Earlier this month a project trialing the Integrity Seal method of sealing film bags was rolled out across salad bags in Marks & Spencer. Funded by WRAP in partnership with International Food Partners, which developed the technology in conjunction with Ceetak Ltd, the trials showed that Integrity Seal had the potential to improve shelf-life from five to eight days in the case of certain types of salad.
The technique uses heat to melt the film to make a welded seal on the ends just 1mm wide rather than using the traditional method of crimping. It also uses less packaging.
Meanwhile the fervour over reduced packaging is reaching parliament this week, with 112 MPs reportedly having joined a campaign organised by the Independent newspaper against excess over-packaged products.
In a bid to reduce the millions of tonnes of wrappers and cartons thrown in the UK’s bins, the Independent began its Campaign Against Waste on January 22 and the paper is now calling for people to have their voice heard on the issue by lobbying their MP to join the protest.
The campaign hopes that parliamentary support for the Early Day Motion 814 will show the government the force of public opinion on the issue and increase the chances of legislation reaching the statute book. The EDM 814 actually commends the Independent’s campaign and calls on shops to tackle the problem and to encourage suppliers to do likewise.
The motion also highlights that packaging takes up 17 percent of the annual food budget and generates 4.6m tonnes of household rubbish a year.
From Sunday May 6 to Saturday 12, the seventh annual Compost Awareness Week takes place nationally. The event originated in Canada and is also celebrated in Australia and the USA. The Composting Association and WRAP are heavily involved in the event’s organisation in the UK.
Compost Awareness Week is being promoted as a key opportunity for producers to promote the benefits of compost made from recycled garden and kitchen waste, to both consumers and a trade audience.
The central theme of the campaign this year is ‘Compost: make it, buy it, use it.’ Retailers will be getting involved, with Sainsbury’s placing ‘compost me’ stickers on a range of fruit and vegetables, Asda promoting the campaign through the in-store radio, and Waitrose having aisle signage and opening up a number of stores to local authorities to host events. Focus, and a number of garden centre chains, also have promotions planned.
Media activity sees Phillipa Forrester and Gaynor Faye (left) carrying out radio and TV interviews to talk about Compost Awareness Week, compost and home composting, while Kim Wilde will be offering News of the World readers the chance to win a patio makeover.
As part of the campaign WRAP has developed buying guides listing retailers and producers that sell composts containing recycled materials, while an advertisement will be run on Garden Centre Radio in 30 stores reminding consumers to stock up on peat-free products.
Actress and Dancing on Ice star Faye has also been fronting a campaign, launched last month, to encourage consumers to compost at home. The Recycle Now Home Composting initiative hopes to encourage the public to keep their gardens in bloom at the same time as helping save the environment.
The idea of home composting is that consumers recycle kitchen and garden waste instead of having it sent to landfill where it can release methane and harm the environment. The philosophy is that the compost produced can be used on the garden to help retain soil moisture and help plants stay alive during the increasingly hot summers.
“By composting at home we can protect the environment and make sure that our favourite flowers continue to look amazing,” said Faye.
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