BLOG IN A BOTTLE

Let’s be honest – who really wants to talk about trash? We put it into bags, carefully place it outside our homes on the allocated day and, for most of us, that’s where it ends.

But for one lady that’s where it starts. Ms. April Lai lives in Hong Kong, where the seven million inhabitants produce a staggering 13,817 tons of garbage each day. Of the 6 million produced each year, barely any goes to recycling.

To give you an idea, in 2006 about 3,000 tons of glass waste was recovered, which came to about 2% of the glass waste generated in Hong Kong that year.

Whilst the government is slowly starting to put schemes into place to deal with this problem, Ms. Lai is spending her Thursdays and Saturdays sifting through rubbish at trash collection points in the city, gathering up all the glass she can find. With a tiny team of part-time drivers and volunteers, her nongovernmental organization, Green Glass Green, manages to deliver about two to three tons of glass to Tiostone Environmental each visit.

Founded in 2005, Tiostone’s factory is dedicated to transforming trash into paving stones and an essential component of those bricks is the glass Ms. Lai is tirelessly working to supply.

Tiostone Environmental by Bettina Wassener/The International Herald Tribune January 2012

Indeed, it is this very relationship between Green Glass Green and Tiostone that is rallying the local residents to take part in the city clean-up. Whilst Ms. Lai is fighting through endless red tape to obtain permission to place glass collection bins in public locations, residents around the city can be seen dropping off their bundles of glass empties for her to dispose of.

“When people show their support, it is so encouraging”, she says. Understandably so.

It no doubt seems Green Glass Green and Tiostone putting everything they have in the fight to keep the city clean. When programs to collect glass are met with indifference, such as the one set up by the government and Hong Kong hotel association in 2008 to retrieve glass waste from hotels, it is no doubt a delight to see people arriving with their empty jars and bottles.

Launch of the Glass Container Recycling ProgramNovember 2008

Certainly, the road ahead will not be an easy one for Ms. Lai and the founders of Tiostone. If waste loads continue to increase, an additional 400 hectares of land to develop new landfill sites to meet Hong Kong’s waste disposal needs up to 2030 (read more).  As Mr. Dixon Chan, Director of Tiostone, states, “Ms. Lai is doing a great job… but we need 1,000 Aprils”.

Fortunately, the outlook may not be as bleak as it seems:
“The fact that Green Glass Green, which began its collections 18 months ago, receives some government financing shows that the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department is starting to take glass recycling seriously,” Ms. Lai said.

There is hope yet. Thanks to Ms. Lai.

Visit Ms. Lai at GreenGlassGreen

Late last week, the Swedish government made clear that they were looking to phase out the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in food and drink cans amidst concerns of the potential danger the chemical presents to humans. The move would make them the first in the world to do so.

The controversial chemical has been the subject of many scientific studies, many of which claim that it isn’t safe for human consumption.

The EU recently banned BPA in the production of baby bottles; this move could create a domino effect in the food packaging industry, it is believed. Good news is that glass still more than passes the test, being chemically inert,  it doesn’t interfere in any way with the content it’s holding.

Under new proposals put forward today by two official agencies, Swedish food processors and packaging companies would have to submit plans by the end of the year on how they intend to substitute current epoxy linings in cans with BPA-free alternatives – or get such a roadmap from their suppliers.

Importers and manufacturers would also be obliged to outline when such alternatives could come to market and be available to the food industry. They would also be required to deliver an assessment on the likely impact of the move on food production and manufacturing.

Via: Food Production Daily

Remember the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? The floating 44 million kilograms of plastic waste floating in the Pacific Ocean which kills wildlife and damages the food chain?

Bad news is that Europe’s own Med Sea is facing the same disaster.

There is an alarming phenomenon in the Mediterranean with the presence of an almost invisible pollution entering food chains – pollution by plastic microdebris.

Initial scientific estimates show that about 250 billion floating microplastics contaminate the surface of the Mediterranean.

Is the Mediterranean Sea becoming a plastic soup ingested by fish and even plankton, the base of the whole food chain?

It could be. Unless we act now for European-wide support and research.

Sign this online petition to get legislative support from the European Union and financial support for a Pan European awareness campaign. It’s fast and it’s free. And it’s necessary.

Learn more about this project.

Plastic water bottles have been banned from Italy’s Cinque Terre Region, which consists of five coastal villages just south of Genoa. The region is certified as a World Heritage Coast.

The move comes amid fears that the area is being ‘buried’ in rubbish.

Around 3 million visitors descend on the region each year, discarding their plastic bottles down the cliffs and on the beaches. Latest figures suggest that in August peak season alone, 400,000 plastic bottles were discarded.

People visiting the Region can now pay €1 for a reusable metal flask, which can be filled up from new water fountains, which offer chilled and fizzy water options, too.

Says Franco Bonanini, of the Cinque Terre National Park:

“With so many visitors, the footpaths and villages of the Cinque Terre are at risk of being transformed into a great big open air dustbin.

Local retailers are likely to be upset at the move which implies that they can no longer sell bottled water. However, Franco said that it’s in their long-term interests.

“If the Cinque Terre is reduced to a rubbish dump in five years’ time, they will suffer the consequences. This is a sacrifice that will benefit shopkeepers and everyone else. To the three million tourists who come here every year, we ask them for a little bit of understanding, in order to save this paradise for the future.”

Via: The Telegraph

UK Prime Minister David Cameron is considering bringing back deposit refunds on glass bottles and drink cans, believing that it would drastically reduce litter.

In theory, you would be charged a deposit whenever you buy a glass or plastic bottle (or even a can), which would then be refunded when you return it.

A proposal from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) organisation, suggests a 15 pence (around €0,18) deposit for bottles up to half a litre and 30 pence (around €0,36) for others.

CPRE estimates that this would reduce public sector costs by more than £160 million (around €192 million) per year.

The proposal, which has the Prime Minister’s support, estimates that 90% of bottles and cans would be returned as a result.

Good idea, do you think?

Via: BBC

A few weeks ago, we brought you news that ‘Wine is better in glass’, based on a study conducted by the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences in Bordeaux – fellows that you can rightly assume know a thing or two about the best way to keep (and indeed, drink) wine, based on generations of experience.

However, the lively discussion about the best packaging material for wine continues.

A recent article in South Africa’s Business Day, claimed that plastic bottles ‘are not inferior’ for wine. The country’s Wine and Spirit Board recently approved the use of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic wine bottles.

“The PET bottles are also fully recyclable and have a much lower carbon footprint than glass.” reads the article.

Not so, say FEVE, the European Container Glass Federation.

They’ve submitted a response to the article (which you can read in full here). Here’s a summary:

What makes good packaging?

Good packaging should be as inert as possible: although the article claims that if  ’filled under good manufacturing practices there is no leaching of any kind’, this oversimplifies the problem as plastic materials, like all other materials, always leach elements. Glass, on the other hand, does not.

Good packaging should preserve a product’s original taste: glass doesn’t leach, nor does it react chemically with the content; it is the only packaging material that fully preserves the original taste of food and beverages.

Good packaging should not poison the environment: recent studies show the harmful effect of plastic waste in the ocean, caused by direct injuries or by toxic releases of bisphenol A (BPA). Glass, given its high recycled rate and inertness, has no adverse effect on the environment.

Good packaging should be fully recyclable: the article claims that PET bottles are fully recyclable, but are they recycled or incinerated? And if recycled, it is probably not in a closed-loop system (bottle-to-bottle), meaning that they will, at the end of the day, end up in landfills. Glass is 100% recyclable; over and over again – without any loss of quality.

Good packaging should be locally made and recycled: plastic, for instance, is made from oil sourced in the Middle East, which is transported to China (or elsewhere), where PET pellets are made. Those pellets are then transported to other regions to make the pre-bottle, and when the finally bottle is disposed, it is mainly re-transported back to China for energy recovery. Glass on the other hand, is made from local raw materials, is produced in a local glass factory and is locally recycled.

The reasoning and arguments laid out in FEVE’s response are clear. Spread the word about what’s good for you. Your family. And the environment. And enjoy a glass of wine as it should be.

The picture is better than it has ever been: last year, we recycled more than 29% of Europe’s plastic packaging – exceeding the original target of 22.5%.

But it’s not enough, say plastic packaging recyclers. More needs to be done to support the plastics recycling sector.

Europe produces some 60 million tonnes of plastic a year – that’s 25% of the global total, as shown in the graph below:

World plastics production 2008

EU member states are ever-increasingly doing a good job of recovering their used plastics – some even recycling and recovering as much as 80% of what we throw away.

These countries adopt an integrated resource management strategy, which aims to move away from relying landfill sites.

Although disposal at landfill sites is reducing, it is still at a staggering 48.7% of all our plastics. Still not good news for anyone.

The plastics industry encourages a movement from landfill sites to energy recovery. A recent study showed that 7% of the EU Kyoto target for greenhouse gas emissions could be saved if all waste currently going to landfill was moved to a combination of recycling and energy recovery.

But the progress from landfill sites to energy recovery is still too slow, say recyclers. In their report, ‘The Compelling Facts About Plastics 2009’, they say:

Whilst recycling performance is similar across most European countries, there are big differences in the utilisation of energy recovery. Countries which depend on landfills must not only maximise their full recycling potential, but also quickly expand their energy-from waste network.

Diversion from landfill progress is slow. Recycling across Europe increased, energy recovery increased, but significant efforts are necessary in many members states if they are to maximise the full potential of a diversion from landfill strategy.

Take some time to take a look at the plastic recyclers’ report. What’s your view?

Sad news from The Times, as it seems that last orders are finally being called on the Great British pint glass – in the latest measure from the Home Office designed to make our public houses that little bit safer.

And while this will come as a devastating blow to those campaigning for the increase in use of the worlds only 100% recyclable material, as well as those who enjoy a traditional pint – the government is insistent. Sebastian Conran, who heads the Home Office’s Design and Technology Alliance Against Crime, said: “There are existing plastic glasses and if you go to a baseball game in the United States you can buy beer in a paper cup.

“People are quite used to drinking beer out of plastic and paper things but there is a feeling that in public, it is a traditional thing to drink beer out of a glass.”

But whether the great British public will openly embrace plastic glasses or ‘baseball paper cups’ is questionable, with popular opinion (anecdotally anyway) against the move. Twitter user predacomDom said “In the Sports Cafe. It’s fair to say this isn’t my usual kind of establishment. Apparently we can only be trusted with plastic pint glasses”. N8zilla added “Plastic pint glasses at a bar = Sippy cups for pre-adults”.

But however the governments crack design team decide that the new pint glasses should look, here’s hoping they take environmental concerns into consideration, as with 126 million pints of beer served each week in Britain alone, any reliance on the wrong materials could be globally catastrophic…

Any thoughts? Leave them below…

Parents in the US have had their voice heard: according to the BBC, 6 manufacturers of babies’ bottles in the US are to remove a controversial chemical from their products following consumer demand.

Bisphenol A (BPA) – a chemical widely used in plastic manufacture and commonly found in food and drink containers – has sparked growing concern that it could negatively affect babies’ health if, for example, plastic bottles are heated.

Parents are advised to not pour boiling liquid directly into plastic bottles, not to microwave them or use scratched or worn ones.

(more…)

The American Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) reconsiders its view on chemicals in plastics. In August, the agency stated that bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in plastic, does not affect the brain nor affects behavioral development in infants. (more…)