U3A Sustainable Living group Meeting 5th December: PLASTICS

• Introduction

• Reducing the use of single-use plastics in Denbighshire CC:

Councillor Emrys Wynne

• Plastics – An attempt to discover some truths:

Sue Foy, Chester U3A

• How to recycle plastics in Ruthin area

• Upcoming programme

• Refreshments Ruthin & District U3A Sustainable Living group

Lleihau’r Defnydd o Blastigau Un Tro

Reducing the use of Single Use Plastics

Presentation by Councillor Emrys Wynne

Resolution

“The Council supports in principle the reduction in the use of plastic but asks that it be referred to Scrutiny for detailed consideration and a further report back to Council”.

If Performance Scrutiny Committee recommends Task

and Finish Group’ Action Plan, it will ask County Council to approve its implementation across the Council.

Full Council – 3rd July 2018

The Resolution was scrutinised by the Performance Scrutiny Committee on Thursday 28 November and it was unanimously passed by members of the group without making any amendments.

Performance Scrutiny will present the Resolution to Full Council in January 2020.

Action Plan

• An Action Plan for a reduction in the use of plastics within Denbighshire County Council offices will be implemented within council.

• Achievement of objectives within the Action Plan will demonstrate that the Council is taking a lead in Denbighshire in reducing the use of plastics.

• A reduction in the use of plastics by Denbighshire County Council will contribute towards the Environmental Priority contained within the Corporate Plan.

Future Proposals.

• That the Use of Plastics Members’ Task & Finish Group continue its work for a further 12 months with a view to proposing further actions in the area of: School Catering (which is currently out of scope in this proposal) plus broader procurement around plastic.

• The `avoidance and reduction of plastics within the council’ to be a work stream linked to the wider Climate Change and Ecological Emergency response.

Proposals to be scrutinised

• Stop the provision of blue plastic water cups at water coolers within council buildings

• Encourage the reuse of water bottles to refill at water coolers

• Remove water coolers altogether

• Stop the provision of cups at refreshment points within council buildings

• Staff Campaign to `bring your own cup’ to work/office/meetings

To achieve these proposals

• Remove refreshment stations altogether from council offices

• Reduce provision of plastic milk containers `jiggers’ at refreshment points

• Plastic stirrers (not applicable) – wooden stirrers • Promote behaviour change to either avoid or reduce plastic

use to all council staff • Stop purchase of plastic stationary wallets in all services • Remove vending machines completely • Arrange consultation with School Forum to challenge

`avoidance and reduction of plastics’ in our council offices

Next Steps

• The Member Task & Finish Group to explore and investigate options to avoid and reduce plastics in other areas of the council

• All staff through their management structures to look at how to avoid or reduce plastics within the council

Consequences of successfully removing single use plastics.

• 10 YEARS 140,000 REDUCTION OF PLASTIC WATER COOLER CUPS Saving: £5,320

• 5 YEARS 70,000 REDUCTION OF PLASTIC WATER COOLER CUPS Saving: £2,660

• 1 YEAR 14,000 REDUCTION OF PLASTIC WATER COOLER CUPS Saving: £532 per annum

Impacts

• Daily coffee habit at work has no impact.* • It may not seem like a big deal, but single-use coffee cups

have a significant, negative impact on the environment. EXAMPLE Many paper cups are coated or have a plastic liner between

the paper layers to prevent leakage, or they are made of non-recyclable Styrofoam and therefore cannot be recycled.

* Disposable cups are only used by staff when attending

meetings, not for drinks they make themselves during the day. Lots of staff have already started bringing their own cups with them to meetings.

What can we do?

• Bring a ceramic coffee cup or travel mug from home to use in work/office

• Use a reusable coffee cup when you get coffee `to go’ – either on your way to work or when you’re out and about – many coffee shops offer a discount when you do this.

• Most of us already have reusable hot beverage containers.

9 ways to reduce use of single use plastics

1. Carry a reusable bottle. In the UK we use over 35 million plastic bottles every day! Carrying a reusable bottle is a great way to cut your plastic use and save money too! 2. Say no to plastic straws. Plastic straws are bad news for our oceans. Next time you order a drink, think about whether you need a straw – and if you don’t, just say no! You can also ask your local pub to stop adding straws to drinks as standard and offer paper straws to those who want one. 3. Take a reusable coffee cup. 2.5 billion coffee cups ar e thrown away every year in the UK – and less than 1 in 400 are recycled. Carry a reusable cup with you – some cafes even offer a small discount if you use your own cup (and if they don’t ask them why not!)

4. Avoid excessive food packaging. Whether it’s making different choices in the supermarket or choosing a different place to shop, we can all try and cut down the plastic we buy. And as an added bonus, loose fruit and veg is often cheaper than pre-packaged alternatives! 5. Use refill stations for detergents. There are some products where it’s difficult to avoid a plastic container (for example washing up liquid or laundry liquid) – the good news is that there are an increasing amount of places where you can refill your old bottles. 6. Say no to disposable cutlery We’ve all been there – caught out in a cafe or at a train station when we’ve bought a salad or a yogurt but the only cutlery on offer is plastic! Whilst it’s hard to plan for every opportunity, consider carrying a spoon or fork (or spork!) in your bag or keeping cutlery at work.

7. Get your milk delivered Although the early morning sound of a milk float is not as common as it used to be, there are still lots of places in the UK where you can get milk delivered in glass bottles – which are then collected and reused. 8. Avoid microbeads The good news is that the UK government announced a ban on microbeads! However, the ban came into force in 2018, there may still be products on the shelves so keep checking those labels before you buy and avoid products containing polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and nylon. 9. Carry a shopping bag Since the plastic bag charge was introduced, there’s been a massive 85% drop in their use. Many of us are used to carrying an extra bag with us – if you still find it hard to remember, try a foldaway one that you can carry in your normal day bag.

Diolch.

Thank you.

Plastics – An attempt to discover some truths Extracts from the presentation by Sue Foy, Chester U3A:

Easy Steps to Reduce Plastic Waste - Use refillable water bottles and coffee cups - Pack a plastic free lunch - Embrace the soap bar - Shop naked - Bag it: carry reusable bags or go for paper instead - Say no to disposable straws and cutlery - Avoid convenience foods - Keep away from plastic food wraps - Ditch disposable toiletries - Cut down on polluting products The alternative to toothpaste that mentioned in the presentation was DentTabs. They are available from Just Footprints in Chester https://justfootprintschester.co.uk/ or also online here https://www.theplasticfreeshop.co.uk/denttabs A comment from Sue: “The easiest way I found to reduce plastic in my life was to focus on one area at a time - e.g. toiletries, tea and coffee, dairy products, Christmas wrapping. Once I thought I was doing as well as possible on one, I moved on to the next.”

To Do

The full presentation on this project, by Mair Davies of Ruthin Friends of the Earth, is on the U3A website

The ‘waste hierarchy’ is

a useful model to

follow – the higher up

the diagram,

the higher the priority ‘REFUSE’ as in

‘decline’ rather than ‘rubbish’!

Re-invent / re-think / re-design

Refuse

Prevent

Reduce Or Avoid = waste minimisation

Reuse & Repair, refill, return, re-purpose, replace / re-buy (products

made from recycled or green materials), upcycle.

Recycle

Rot (compost)

Recover (energy, heat)

Regulate disposal

NB. ‘wish cycling’…. “the practice of tossing questionable items in the recycling bin, hoping they can somehow be recycled.”

The ‘3 Rs’ of Reduce > Reuse > Recycle are well accepted but in fact there are many more ‘R’s…

How / where to recycle plastics in Ruthin?

1. Denbighshire CC doorstep / kerbside collections

2. Denbighshire CC recycling centres (Lon Parcwr)

3. Tesco

4. Terracycle

1. What you can recycle using current Denbighshire CC doorstep recycling

Can

Rec

ycle

• Plastic bottles

• Plastic trays

• Plastic tubs

• Plastic pots

• Plastic lids

Can

t re

cycl

e

• Hard plastic

• Soft scrunch plastic

• Stretchy plastic & film

• Plastic tubes

• Mixed materials

2. Denbighshire CC recycling centres Recycling available at Lon Parcwr: (info taken from the Council’s web site)

Batteries

Cardboard

Electrical goods

Furniture

Mobile telephones

Scrap metal

Textiles

Aerosol cans

Bric-a-Brac

Computer monitors

Engine oil

Glass

Paper

Soil & rubble

White goods

Aluminium foil

Cans

Computers

Fluorescent tubes

Garden waste

Plastic bottles

Televisions

Wood (no chipboard/MDF)

3. Tesco

Tesco Ruthin have a carrier bag recycling collection bin.

Types of plastic film accepted

Stretchy Plastic

Look for this label on the

packaging:

Types of plastic film not

accepted

Non stretchy Plastic

Look for this label on the

packaging:

Plastic carrier bags Any non-Polyethylene film

(e.g. PP, PVC, others)

Plastic bread bags Bubble wrap

Plastic bags from breakfast cereals Clingfilm

Plastic wrappers from multipacks of

cans and plastic bottles Crisp packets

Plastic wrappers from toilet roll and

kitchen towel Food and drink pouches

Plastic freezer bags Film lids from food trays

Plastic magazine (home delivery)

and newspaper wrap

4. Terracycle This company recycles various products which can’t be recycled through the other options. Their costs are underwritten by various large companies, such as the producers of Walker Crisps. There are a number of drop off points in the area. The most local drop off is Hill & Roberts Accountants in Ruthin.

In return, the collector receives a small amount of money: in our case, this is donated to local environmental projects.

Ella’s Kitchen baby

food pouches Pringle tubes Confectionery

wrappers

Biscuits, Cake &

Crackers wrappers

Toothbrushes and

oral care packaging

Nuts, pretzels and

popcorn packaging

More information:

1. See handout on Terracycle. 2. www.recyclenow.com This website provides lots of information, tips and advice including ‘What to do with…(for example) Plastic Film and Carrier Bags’, and definitions of recycling symbols. 3. ‘Living without plastic – plastic-free home’ Search for living without plastics Friends of the Earth …. or click on: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/plastics/living-without-plastic?utm_source=offer-other&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=plastics&utm_content=2019-01_lm19au001

Ruthin & District U3A Sustainable Living Group

From www.recyclenow.com

Ruthin & District U3A Sustainable Living Group

Provisional 6 month programme • January 2nd: theme – circular economy and ‘One Planet Living’ Speaker – Sian Williams, Centre for One Planet Living Venue – Old Courthouse, St Peter’s Square • February 6th: theme – climate change & what the individual can do Speaker – Becky Fowkes, Size of Wales / Renew Wales • March 5th: theme – sustainable agriculture Speaker – Dr Prysor Williams, Bangor University • April 2nd: theme – energy efficiency & renewables in the home Speaker Dafydd Watts, Energy Service Wales

NB. venue for meetings from February onwards to be confirmed.

Ruthin & District U3A Sustainable Living Group

Ruthin & District U3A Sustainable Living Group

It would be good if one or more members attend this significant event, and report back to the group. Any volunteers?