Since we handle over 50 tons of packaging and meet a certain financial turnover per annum, we’re classed as an ‘obligated’ packaging producer. And this means our packaging has to fulfil more than simply holding, handling, protecting, delivering, and presenting goods to our customers; it also has to meet the recovery and recycling requirements as set out by the Packaging Waste Regulations, which it does successfully.
As a registered ‘obligated’ packaging producer, we’re legally bound to reduce the environmental impact of our packaging. Under this guiding principle, we strive to adhere to the following rules at every stage of our supply chain:
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To minimise the amount of packaging used in the first place
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To reduce the quantity of packaging waste sent to landfill
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To increase the amount of packing that can be recovered, reused, and recycled
These legal requirements lay a strong foundation for big companies, like us, to actively contribute towards a circular economy, which, we believe, is at the heart of a truly sustainable society. For one, diverting packaging waste away from landfill means we can help reduce the countless toxic effects these sites have on the environment, such as polluting water supplies, releasing harmful greenhouse emissions, negatively impacting biodiversity, adversely affecting soil quality, and even conspiring to harm human health.
This policy demands us to use raw materials frugally, too. Encouraging the recycling, reusing, and recovering of packaging materials conserves precious natural resources, like oil, forests, and metals. Extracting raw materials threatens the environment on a global scale. Not only does it wreak havoc with habitats and ecosystems, but it also demands vast quantities of energy – a process that emits enormous amounts of polluting chemicals into the atmosphere.
All things considered, the prerequisites outlined by the Packaging Waste Regulations have made us acutely aware of our environmental footprint at every stage of our value chain – from cradle to grave. Beyond making us fastidious about the suppliers we use – carefully selecting those companies that prioritise sustainability – it has also encouraged us to search for innovative and creative packaging solutions to minimise our impact on the world around us.
Bibliography:
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GOV.UK. (2019). Dispose of business or commercial waste. Available online: https://www.gov.uk/managing-your-waste-an-overview [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].
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GOV.UK. (2019). Packaging waste: producer responsibilities. Available online: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/packaging-producer-responsibilities#contents [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].
