Plastic Recycling Conumdrum

 Reposted from Edie:

Recycling gap: Most Brits claim they recycle plastic at home, so why aren't rates improving?

23 March 2021, source edie newsroom

A new survey of 5,000 adults has revealed that eight in ten UK adults recycle at least three-quarters of the plastics waste produced in their homes. So why is the UK's domestic plastics recycling rate stagnating?

Plastic recycling is rising up the environmental agenda in the UK again, with the end of lockdown on the horizon

The statistic is a headline finding of the new ‘State of Plastic Recycling’ report from Hi-Cone, which manufactures packaging solutions including the ring carriers found on multipacks of beverage cans.

In producing the report, Hi-Cone commissioned YouGov to survey 5,000 adults across the UK, Spain, Mexico and the US, with an even split of respondents from each nation. Of the UK respondents, 79% claimed to recycle at least 75% of the plastic waste generated within their homes, largely through kerbside recycling systems.

This proportion is considerably higher than the official figures from the Department for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra). Figures from Defra last March revealed that the UK reused or recycled 46.2% of the plastic packaging it produced in 2017.  New Defra figures on dry mixed recycling from homes, including plastics, published this month, revealed a minimal increase since then.

It could be the case that respondents were either over-estimating or deliberately exaggerating the proportion of plastic they place into recycling bins knowing that it is recyclable. Hi-Cone notably recorded a mixed picture in terms of awareness on the recyclability of certain items and in terms of understanding key buzzwords like “circular economy”.

However, issues with collection and processing – in terms of infrastructure capacity and capability – probably also have a role to play. On the former, Hi-Cone’s survey found that one-third of respondents wanted more home recycling for plastics, like more bins or more frequent collections.

On the latter, many councils have been observed to either incinerate collected recycling or export it abroad due to a lack of processing capability locally. This has contributed to distrust from residents which may have affected recycling behaviours – one 2019 survey found that four in ten UK adults suspect that their council’s contracted waste manager is not recycling the majority of the items they separate. And, while innovative systems are coming online rapidly, the UK still does not have large-scale facilities capable of recycling things like black plastics or plastic films in a closed-loop fashion.

The British Plastics Federation estimates that the UK’s recycling capacity now is just one-third of what it will be in 2030. Updates on the UK’s Resources and Waste Strategy, due this year after pandemic-related delays, may well provide good news in this space.

You can read a fuller breakdown of the Defra figures in edie’s recent ‘Tracking the UK’s waste mountain in charts’ feature.

Out and about

As well as challenges and opportunities with recycling domestically, the Hi-Cone report tracked consumer attitudes about the ease of recycling on-the-go.

This had been a key focus of many collaborative projects involving corporates pre-Covid-19, including Hubbub’s 'Leeds By Example’, which has since been replicated in cities including Swansea and Edinburgh. Over lockdown, many schemes of this nature were either paused or experienced lower levels of uptake from consumers. Separately, the reduction in the frequency of waste collections from public bins by many councils has been linked to a rise in littering and a decrease in recycling on-the-go in the UK.

With the end of lockdown restrictions on the horizon, the Hi-Cone survey found a strong public appetite for tools to help them recycle on-the-go. 62% of respondents from the UK said they want to see more recycling bins in public places.

Who’s responsible?

Another major question posed in the Hi-Cone survey focussed on who consumers believe is responsible for plastic waste.

Almost three-quarters (64%) said that product manufacturers and other plastic producers, like companies that make the raw materials or that manufacture the packaging elsewhere, should bear the most responsibility for ensuring recycling. Figures were lower for the national government (57%) and lower again for devolved administrations and local councils.

Only one in ten people said that non-profit groups should assume the responsibility. Half stated that consumers have a responsibility, but most agreed that other actors across the value chain also have a role to play.

These changes in opinion are being mirrored in the proposed changes to policy under the Resources and Waste Strategy. The strategy outlines plans to alter Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes and to introduce taxes on plastics packaging with low quantities of recycled content and/or poor recyclability.

The Strategy also floats a deposit return scheme for plastic drinks containers – likely to come into effect in 2023 at the earliest. Such a scheme would incentivise consumers with the promise of a refundable deposit, while placing new responsibilities on corporates.

Beyond the Strategy, the UK Government has committed to eliminating all “avoidable” plastics waste by 2042.

"Woefully Inadequate" - What Is It This Time? - Green Homes Grant Delivery

 I'm reposting this from Edie's Sarah George in full because it's so important. I've looked at my home in light of the Grant scheme - it just ain't fit for purpose.

The UK will miss its long-term, legally binding climate targets unless the Government addresses energy efficiency in homes as a priority, MPs are warning.

Households are responsible for an estimated 20% of the UK’s total climate emissions - largely due to fossil fuel heating and energy inefficiencies 

In a new report published today (22 March), MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) are warning that the UK Government has underestimated the costs of decarbonising existing UK homes by 2050 – its net-zero deadline – by at least £35bn. In the worst-case scenario, the costs of retrofitting could be £65bn higher than current forecasts.

The report both criticises the Government’s delivery the Green Homes Grant itself and its decision not to make the scheme part of a broader and longer-term approach. On the former, Ministers recently announced that some £1.5bn of the scheme’s initially earmarked £2bn is being withdrawn, citing a shortage of certified suppliers to deliver the works.

Many green groups had hoped that Chancellor Rishi Sunak would use this month’s Budget speech to re-allocate the £1.5bn and to announce a replacement scheme, but this did not happen. The most recent Government figures on the Green Homes Grant show that just £125m of vouchers have been issued to date – just 8% of the amount originally promised.

With the scaling-back of the Grant, the EAC claims, the Government has allocated around £4bn of the £9.2bn for energy efficiency promised in the Conservative Party’s manifesto for the 2019 general election. The report recommends that existing schemes have their funding “front-loaded and rolled out without delay”. It also calls for reduced VAT rates for renovations – both in terms of labour and materials.

Beyond funding, the report slams the Government’s approach to regulating and measuring domestic energy efficiency. It outlines evidence that social housing and rented properties are typically less energy efficient than homes owned outright by several EPC grades. It goes on to call the EPC itself outdated and urges Ministers to develop a methodology that places more onus on carbon. Building Renovation Passports, as trialled in markets like the EU, are posed as a potential replacement.

With housing accounting for one-fifth of the UK’s domestic annual emissions, and with more than 80% of buildings standing today set to still be standing in 2050, these failures could jeopardise climate progress overall, the EAC believes.

The EAC is calling on Ministers to enact the report’s recommendations through the forthcoming Heat and Buildings Strategy. edie understands that the policy framework, originally due last autumn, is now likely to be published soon after Easter.

“Making 19 million homes ready for net-zero Britain by 2050 is an enormous challenge that the Government appears to have not yet grasped,” EAC chairman Philip Dunne MP said.

“In the next 29 years, the Government must improve energy efficiency upgrades and roll out low carbon heating measures: a material start must be made now….Realism needs to be injected into the Government. A much better understanding of cost, pace, scale and feasibility of skills development is desperately needed for net-zero Britain.

Green economy reaction

As expected, the EAC’s report has drawn much praise from the groups that expressed disappointment at cuts to the Green Homes Grant.

Green Alliance’s head of politics Chris Venables said: “The hugely popular Green Homes Grant has the potential to be a massive climate-friendly job creation scheme at a crucial moment in the UK’s economic recovery. MPs joining the chorus of voices cheering on this scheme piles even more pressure on the government to support small businesses chomping at the bit to upgrade our leaky homes.

Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) analyst Jess Ralston added: “Despite government talking a good game on net-zero, it is clear this is failing to manifest into action to cut carbon from our homes. Rushed policies that are chopped and changed seemingly at random risk undermining public enthusiasm for fixing up our leaky homes, damage that could harm future schemes for years to come.

“The benefits of getting this right are crystal clear; hundreds of thousands of skilled jobs, lower bills, less carbon and more comfortable homes. The only barrier to climate-proofing our homes is government inaction, with every year of delay only making the problem worse.

“There is no way of getting to net-zero without tackling emissions from homes. With a recent litany of policy decisions undermining the UK’s credibility on climate ahead of this year’s crucial COP26 summit, it would be a mistake to add another to the list.”

The recent “litany” referred to by Ralston includes further delays to the Environment Bill, potential backtracking on sustainable farming and plastic waste exports, and, of course, the ever-controversial coking coal mine in Cumbria.

The Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) told edie that It supports the EAC’s recommendations in full. “This timely report rightly raises the issue of the current piecemeal government policy towards retrofitting existing buildings that has consistently underestimated the difficulty of the task at hand,” ADE chief strategic advisor Dr Joanne Wade said.

The UK Green Buildings Council’s chief executive Julie Hirigoyen added: “Unfortunately the findings of this inquiry come as little surprise. The publication of this report comes amidst ongoing uncertainty about the future of the Green Homes Grant scheme, which is hugely destabilizing for businesses that are trying to plan around it and consumers wishing to access it. It also comes shortly after a Budget in which energy efficiency was notable only for its absence.

“Government needs to act on the Committee’s recommendations, grasping the nettle to deliver a comprehensive, properly funded, long-term home energy retrofit programme – including the £9.2bn package of energy efficiency measures promised in the Conservative manifesto.”

 Sarah George

Compostable Packaging

 I read this post from Edie with some surprise - I had no idea that food waste collection does not happen nation-wide. What is up with the local authorities that don't do it?

That "compostable" has a variety of meanings I know to my cost. For a year or so I gayly threw filled caddy bags into my compost bins only to find out that, despite the warm words printed on the packaging, they compost ONLY VERY SLOWLY. Suitable food waste still goes into my compost bins but the bag that I collect it in now gets disposed of inside the one I use for kerb-side collection. Lesson learned!

As Edie's post makes clear - much better information as to the suitability of material for home or industrial composting is required. If the right actions are not made easy for folks they won't do them.

BP Plans Blue Hydrogen Scheme

 BP has announced plans for a 1GW capacity blue hydrogen scheme on Teesside. This would be a steam-methane reforming facility with carbon capture and storage aimed at capturing up to 98% of the CO2 produced. A couple of things immediately strike me. The first, given that I'm a cynical soul, is that I wonder what the "down to" figure for CO2 capture is. And secondly there is no mention of how the steam is being raised. Renewable electricity one might hope but could well be further CH3 requiring greater CCS. Hmmm! The final investment decision is not expected until 2024 and a lot could change by that time.

Catharine Bodham Donne (1862-1967)

 

Catharine Bodham Donne 

A Centenarian

Catharine Bodham Donne (seemingly known as Katie to close relatives[1]) was born on 29 April 1862 at 40 Weymouth Street, Marylebone, London[2][3]. She was the oldest child of Mildred Kemble and Charles Edward Donne.  Her father was then curate of the Holy Trinity Church, Paddington.

In 1866 her father became vicar of Faversham[4] and the family (3 girls, 3 boys) is recorded there in the 1871 census[5]. In 1872 she developed an abscess in her ear and was sent to London for specialist treatment. She remained there for several years, going to school at Notting Hill Gate[6].

In 1876 her mother died[7]. Her aunt Gertrude wrote to Blanche Donne “…it is of the greatest of importance for the poor children not to be left entirely to their own devices. Katie…only wants a little constant affectionate guiding to become all we wish for her. She is not strong enough of herself at present to manage the house, and all the children….”[8].

The situation did not last long as in August 1877 Katie’s father married Augusta Rigden[9], daughter of William Rigden, JP, landowner, banker and brewer – a leading man in the town. GAM reports that this was not a happy event for Katie who at first refused to call her step-mother “Mother”. She remembered all her life a painful interview with her father’s curate, Algernon Boys, for whose sake she eventually relented. Augusta (known as Gussie) was very possessive of Charles and the children were banished for much of the time to the nursery. Katie was thankful to go to boarding school where she was very happy[10].

Katie is recorded as being resident at the vicarage in the 1881 census[11] but at some point during that year she was taken by her uncle-in-law, Sir Charles Santley, to Bavaria, Milan and Parma where she met various professional opera singers[12]. From references in GAM’s “Letters”, music, particularly singing, would appear to have featured quite strongly in Katie’s life. In her memoirs Katie wrote “In 1882 I spent the best part of the Spring and Summer at Weymouth Street for my beloved Grandfather was failing fast. Aunt Blanche had engaged a male attendant, but grandfather took a great dislike to this man and said he was poisoning him, and refused to take any food unless I gave it to him; it was pathetic to see this wonderful but overworked brain losing its grip and my dear grandfather becoming childish and forgetful”[13]. William Bodham Donne died on 20 June.

There are various entries in GAM’s “Letters” suggesting that Katie did the rounds of relatives over the next few years[14]. At one point GAM notes that in autumn 1887 “Henry invited himself to Uncle Mowbray’s and he and Katie Donne had a very happy week together, and she hoped he would propose to her. But Henry was probably only too much aware of the 15 years difference in their ages and could not bring himself to speak”[15]. GAM did not record a source for this information which could possibly have been Katie’s memoirs. In September Henry took photographs at a family wedding and first sent the prints to Katie which she took as a good sign[16].

They met again at a music festival when Katie was staying with Harriette Donne. GAM recorded a extract from Katie’s memoirs: “During the interval to my great surprise and pleasure Henry Johnson came to me and asked me to wait for him at the end of the performance and he would escort me to the entrance to meet the Turners. Happily, they were a long time coming and we stood behind the door and by that time I felt all would be well in the end”[17]. On returning to Faversham he discovered that her sister Ada was engaged to Dr Walter Scatchard[18].

Henry’s father recorded in his diary that he finally proposed in January 1888[19]. Katie accepted this proposal. The match appears to have been greeted with general approval in the extended family and GAM recorded much congratulatory correspondence in her “Letters”. 

When Katie returned to Faversham to make arrangements for her wedding she found out that Gussie had decreed that she and Ada must be married on the same day as they could not afford two weddings. Ada’s marriage was, however, delayed for legal reasons. Walter had been born in France where his father had married his deceased wife’s sister, a situation not permitted under English law at the time[20]. Eventually both marriages took place on 10 April 1888[21].

She became pregnant fairly quickly. However, at about 3 months she was thrown from a horse and although all appeared to be alright on 18 February 1889 she gave birth to conjoined baby girls who did not survive. She took a long time to recover[22] but fell pregnant again later that year.

GAM reports[23] that her diary for 1889 has regular entries of night school, choir practice, GFS[24] candidates, sewing class and various musical events. Her entry for 21 May reads “Sent for Mr Taylor who came at 5pm and at 8.10 our baby boy (Jack) was born – very long baby, 19 inches, an abundance of black hair”[25].

Katie employed a nurse to help her look after Jack. In GAM’s “Letters” there are many references to the three of them (sometimes four, including Henry) visiting family or entertaining, as well as concerts and church events, including Katie playing the organ[26]. In the 1891 census the three were recorded as being in Torquay, presumably on holiday.[27]

At the end of 1890 the family had removed to Lullington and it was there that her second son, Geoffrey, was born[28]. A further move in 1893 took them to Reading and her daughter Catherine Mary was born there in 1895[29]. Katie noted in her memoirs “We went one night with the Palmers, the head of the Huntley and Palmers biscuit manufactory, who lived in the parish and after dinner we were asked to go into the hall to listen to the first telephone which came from the factory to his private home. We thought it a wonderful invention”[30].

The family was back in Welborne by early 1896 and Katie’s tasks included choir practice, playing and teaching the organ, night school, Sunday school, Girls’ Friendly Society, Mothers’ Union, parish visiting and teaching Jack[31].  This did not prevent much socialising (Katie acquired a bicycle), family visits, music making and concert going[32].

In the summer of 1900 she cracked here coccyx in a fall and was confined to the sofa to recover.  To occupy herself she began to edit the letters of Lady Hesketh concerning William Cowper and eventually had a book published in 1901[33]. This was not a financial success but did enable Katie to meet many admirers of Cowper subsequently[34]. However, the exercise spurred her to start assembling material for a life of her grandfather William Bodham Donne, a project which culminated in another book publication in 1905[35]. Once again, the book was not a commercial success but it put Katie in touch with many people in the literary world.

In 1908 the family moved to Ashill which from GAM’s description sounds idyllic[36]. They stayed until 1917, being recorded there in the 1911 census[37], then moving to 32 The Close, Norwich where Henry died. Katie remained there until 1940 when Norwich was being bombed[38]. The 1939 National register records her there with two servants[39].   She removed to Brundall until the war was over and then back into Norwich at 28 Christchurch Road[40] where she died at the age of 105 on 27 May 1967[41].

She had become blind but taught herself braille at the age of 90 and maintained a keen interest in the activities of family members until the last, dictating letters and verses[42]. I remember she was also somewhat deaf and used a large and intimidating ear trumpet. My recollection is of her being bed-ridden which Martin Sharman has suggested was the result a broken hip sustained in another fall[43].

 

---

[1] I deduce this from references in Catharine Mary Johnson’s “Letters and Diaries of the Norfolk Families Donne & Johnson”, vol 3.

[2] Birth registration GRO reference 1862 Jun Marylebone 1A 409.

[3] A significant amount of genealogical information is given in Howard JJ and Crisp FA “Visitation of England and Wales”, vol 3, 1895, p17 available at https://archive.org/details/visitationofengl03howa accessed 28 March 2018, and in vol 5, 1897, p110 available at https://archive.org/details/visitationengla01armsgoog accessed 28 March 2018.

[4] Who’s who in Faversham’s history http://www.faversham.org/history/people/whos_who_c-e.aspx accessed 19 December 2017.

[5] 1871 England and Wales census RG10/978/86/13.

[6] Catharine Mary Johnson “Letters and Diaries of the Norfolk Families Donne & Johnson”, vol 3, p581.

[7] Death registration GRO reference 1876 Jun Faversham 2A 444.

[8] Catharine Mary Johnson “Letters and Diaries of the Norfolk Families Donne & Johnson”, vol 3, p609-10.

[9] Marriage registration GRO reference 1877 Sep Marylebone 1A 1129.

[10] Catharine Mary Johnson “Letters and Diaries of the Norfolk Families Donne & Johnson”, vol 3, p613.

[11] 1881 England and Wales census RG11/968/92/11.

[12] Catharine Mary Johnson “Letters and Diaries of the Norfolk Families Donne & Johnson”, vol 3, p616.

[13] Ibid p617.

[14] Ibid p620, 623, 624.

[15] Ibid p625.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ibid p626.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Ibid p631.

[21] Marriage registration GRO reference 1888 Jun Faversham 2A 1267.

[22] Catharine Mary Johnson “Letters and Diaries of the Norfolk Families Donne & Johnson”, vol 3, p633-34.

[23] Ibid p635.

[24] Possibly the Girls’ Friendly Society?

[25] Catharine Mary Johnson “Letters and Diaries of the Norfolk Families Donne & Johnson”, vol 3, p635.

[26] Ibid p637ff.

[27] 1891 England and wales census RG12/1705/39/33.

[28] Birth registration GRO reference 1893 Sep Frome 5C 453 (given names not recorded).

[29] Birth registration GRO reference 1895 Sep Reading 2C 381 (given names not recorded).

[30] Catharine Mary Johnson “Letters and Diaries of the Norfolk Families Donne & Johnson”, vol 3, p656.

[31] Ibid p658.

[32] Ibid p659ff.

[33] The book, entitled “Letters of Lady Hesketh to the Rev John Johnson concerning their William Cowper the poet” was publish by Jarrold and Sons.

[34] Catharine Mary Johnson “Letters and Diaries of the Norfolk Families Donne & Johnson”, vol 3, p675.

[35] In this case “William Bodham Donne and his Friends” published by Methuen & Co. I have been able to purchase several copies of this work and have distributed them to members of the family.

[36] Catharine Mary Johnson “Letters and Diaries of the Norfolk Families Donne & Johnson”, vol 3, p688.

[37] 1911 England and Wales census RG14/12816/273/3/6/193.

[38] Catharine Mary Johnson “Letters and Diaries of the Norfolk Families Donne & Johnson”, vol 3, p722.

[39] 1939 National Register RG101/6512H/012/24.

[40] Catharine Mary Johnson “Letters and Diaries of the Norfolk Families Donne & Johnson”, vol 3, p722.

[41] Death Registration GRO reference 1967 Jun Norwich 4B 734.

[42] Catharine Mary Johnson “Letters and Diaries of the Norfolk Families Donne & Johnson”, vol 3, p722.

[43] Martin Sharman Facebook post 27 February 2017 (and copied to my electronic filing system).