Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - 4

COMMENT

EDITORIAL
Editor: Julian Buckley
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t @Julian_Buckley

FROM THE
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Plastic and the people
A

poll conducted by YouGov in late April found that 82% of UK consumers were actively trying to reduce their plastic waste. The survey further found that half of respondents would be willing to pay higher prices for eco-friendly packaging.

Other numbers collected by the YouGov survey indicated that half of Britons feel guilty
about the amount of plastic they use, while 'a majority' support top-down policies such
as a bottle deposit scheme and a plastic bag charge covering all retailers, rather than just
larger businesses.
Interestingly, the last point is already moot, as an extended version of the plastic bag
charge is due to be rolled out across all retailers in January 2020. That aside, the survey
raises other issues for plastics manufacturers in the UK.
Take, for example, the idea that more than 50% of respondents are willing to pay higher
prices for eco-friendly packaging. Having been made aware of the plastic waste issue, this
suggests a large portion of the public would trade a higher product cost for advanced packaging solutions. Many
manufacturers already oﬀer such products but if your
company does not, now's the time.
Of course, this can be viewed from another perspective. The survey also reveals that 50% of the British public is unwilling to accept cost increases related to packaging improvements. Taking that a step further, survey
results should be taken with a pinch of salt; it's too easy
to take the moral high ground when not actually facing
an inﬂated grocery bill. But for the sake of argument,
we'll continue.

Drilling down into the data, 81% of respondents said that
they were actively trying to reduce plastic packaging in their fruit and vegetable choices.
Indeed, there are many cases of plastic abuse in the fresh fruit aisle. But before binning
all the plastic wrap, people should be aware that the energy needed to grow a cucumber
is far greater than that used to make and recycle the wrap keeping it fresher for longer.
Finally, there's the majority of survey respondents who favour a deposit return scheme
(DRS). After speaking with rigid packaging manufacturers in Peterborough and Leeds for
this issue, it became apparent how invested these companies are in sourcing recycled
plastic. But according to one company, recycling plastic does not make economic sense
if PET bottles are removed from the equation. You can read more about that starting on
page 26.
It is admirable that people are willing to make proactive moves to reduce their plastic usage. But that should be balanced with a broader plastics knowledge, the related beneﬁts
and wider potential of the circular economy. Essentially, you can have a DRS or a self-perpetuating plastics recycling business. But you can't have both.
As always, thanks for reading.
Julian Buckley
Editor, PRW magazine and website, jbuckley@crain.com

WWW.PRW.COM | MAY/JUNE 2019

Half of Britons feel
guilty about the
amount of plastic
they use

http://www.prw.com http://WWW.PRW.COM

Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019

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