A much needed Food Waste Bill

Kerry McCarthy MP, pictured 3rd from right, with parliamentary supporters, including Caroline Lucas MP and Zac Goldsmith MP.

Yesterday I had the honour of being invited to Westminster, to meet Kerry McCarthy MP and to hear more about the Food Waste Bill, which she is presenting to the House of Commons today.

In a nutshell, the Bill would significantly reduce the obscene amount of food wasted by supermarkets and manufacturers by increasing the donation of good food to charities for managed redistribution to those who are living in food poverty in the UK.

Voluntary food distribution does exist in the UK, but this bill would see a much wider implementation,  and Kerry McCarthy brings to government first-hand experience of how successfully a well managed operation can help the local community.  She is patron of FoodCycle, a charity which has a small number of hubs and cafes across the UK, which uses donated food to cater for those in need.  Kelvin Cheung, CEO of FoodCycle, shared with us his passion about the impact that a wider scheme could have on communities.

Tristram Stuart, campaigner and author of the shockingly revealing book Waste, was also in attendance to show his support and demonstrated clearly how what he referred to as an environmental liability could be so easily turned into something of value, prioritising food redistribution to people in the first instance or where appropriate, repurposing the food as animal feedstock.  He asserted that sending food for waste treatment should always be the last option.

Of course under current legislation, much of what was discussed yesterday would fill many manufacturers or retailers with dread, especially over the issue of liability.  It was evident that the solution is to implement models and a legal framework that overcome such problems.  Jim Larson, Program Director, of US based Food Donation Connection, demonstrated how his organisation has co-ordinated food redistribution since 1992, offering a service that helps the industry to identify which food can be donated, ensure it is safely packaged and labelled and properly chilled or frozen to meet the requirements of redistribution. Donor partners, which include well known names such as KFC and Pizza Hut, consequently receive tax reductions for the surplus food that is donated.

When you hear the success of schemes such as this, which offer obvious solutions to the industry's wasteful practices, it is hard to comprehend why we've accepted this amount of waste for so long.  And it is both obvious and urgent that a solution must be found for the UK.

The Food Waste Bill, which is being presented to Parliament today, will:

1. Place a legal obligation on large supermarkets and large manufacturers to donate a proportion of their surplus food for redistribution to charities, which redistribute it to individuals in food poverty. Food which is unfit for human consumption should be made available for livestock feed in preference to disposal.

2. Encourage and incentivise all other businesses and public bodies which generate food waste - from small food retailers to restaurants - to donate a great proportion of their surplus for redistribution. This would enshrine in law the waste hierarchy that will have to be implemented by all business and public bodies by 12-12-13 under the latest EU Waste Framework Directive.

3. Remove any (real or perceived) barriers to food donation. A UK version of 1996 US legislation, The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, is needed, which protects good faith donors and recipient agencies/foodbanks from civil and criminal liability, except in cases of gross negligence and/or intentional  misconduct.  It would apply to all potential food donors - including individuals, private companies, food retailers and manufacturers, caterers and restaurateurs

Hearing shocking statistics that 50% of edible and healthy food gets wasted across the EU, I have great hopes that today's reading will spur our own government into action and I urge you to encourage your local MP to support the bill and help change legislation.

This final week of The Rubbish Diet Challenge encourages you to look outside the home and become aware of the wider waste footprint.

And you certainly can't beat a touch of citizen-led enthusiasm to raise awareness of something so important as the food waste issue, whether it's asking your council to take the lead in analysing its own waste, contacting your local supermarket to highlight your concerns or inspiring your local school to embark on a food waste project.

And you know, this stuff is really not rocket science. It truly isn't.  While the decision-makers of our country embark on life-changing legislation, those who want to, really can inspire change at a local level too, illustrated by the latest food-waste research project that is being undertaken by the Eco Club at our local primary school, where members are weighing waste daily and looking at ways in which they can reduce their impact on the food waste mountain.

As well as hoping for good things at a national level, I am also clearly excited about seeing their findings and discussing the opportunities that arise.

Encouraging action being taken by our local primary school, as illustrated in its latest newsletter.

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Kerry McCarthy is the MP for the Bristol East constituency.  The Food Waste Bill has already received cross-party support and will be presented after Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons on 14 March 2012.  For more information visit www.kerrymccarthymp.org.

Do me a favour, leave your plastic wrapping at the supermarket!

Don't fret, this old softie hasn't suddenly turned into an an all-guns-ablazing activist overnight but I have come across some good news that will help householders across the country quietly join the move towards a more active zero waste lifestyle.

Reported in this week's LetsRecycle bulletin is the news that the UK's key supermarkets (Asda; The Co-operative Group; WM Morrison; J Sainsbury’s; Tesco; and Waitrose) are officially accepting thin plastic film packaging through their existing in-store bag recycling facilities.

This won't be a new idea to some as several supermarkets have been doing this already, but it is welcome news that this recycling facility is now officially being rolled out at more than 4500 stores across the UK, providing customers with a place to leave packaging such as cereal bags, toilet roll packaging and multi-can wrappers.

What really struck me about the value of collecting back these materials was that according to LetsRecycle, this type of plastic makes up 43% of all plastic household packaging, weighing in at 645,000 tonnes each year.   Plastic bottles make up only 32%, or 480,000 tonnes, by comparison.  Wowsers!  It just goes to show how much there is knocking around this planet of hours and that's a lot of plastic that would otherwise go to waste if it is simply dumped in the rubbish bin.

Of course, much of this packaging can be reduced at source or reused at home (e.g. bread bags being repurposed as sandwich wrappers, and loo roll bags doubling up as bin bags), but much of it can now go back to the supermarket to be reprocessed.  To find out more information about this scheme and the on-pack recycling label that underpins it, visit Caelia Quinault's article at LetsRecycle.com Supermarkets take back plastic film in-store.   Oh....and tell your friends.  Well there's no point in keeping news like this to ourselves is there.

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Day 6: If you don't ask...

So there I was doing a quick trolley dash around Waitrose last night, with my eldest in tow on our way home from Chess Club.

I normally avoid taking my children shopping because being such a positive person I really dislike saying "no" and trips out with the kids normally follow the same pattern...

"Mummy can I have....?"

"No"

"But Mummy, can I have....?"

"Oh no"

"Mummy, pllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase"

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"

"Mu..."

"Not on you nelly and that's the end of it!"

And that's just in the second aisle.

But last night there was hardly a murmer. I was beginning to wonder if he'd taken some compliancy pills because we'd done most of our shopping without a hint of a demand or a whingy-woo.

That is, until we got to the juice section and then it started...

"Mummy can we buy all those?" Pointing individually to each and every type of carton he could find on the shelves.

WHAT!

Perhaps one type of juice might be a reasonable request, but the whole aisle? That was a different matter entirely

"Oh no, no, no, no, no." came my reply.

"But we can recycle all the cartons." he said in his defence.

"There's even a recycling bin at the back of the car park."

He's obviously been taking notice of everything that's been happening this week.

Well it might be Recycle Week, and I know I've been working hard on my pledge but I'm not that dedicated I'd buy a whole range of fruit juice worthy of a well-stocked cocktail bar, just so I could recycle the cartons at the back of the car park.

Besides we already had stocks at home that hadn't even been opened.

But while we were both admiring the range of drinks on the shelves and arguing the toss, I couldn't help notice that something was missing...

...and something so simple too.

There may very well be an excellent recycling bin at the back of the car park for processing empty cartons, but how does the customer know?

There weren't any signs in the store or in the car park to advertise. Even if they are well used by those in the know, imagine the potential if more people were aware.

If it hadn't been Recycle Week, I might have simply paid up and wandered back to our car - yes, even me with my dedicated rubbish reducing antics.

But it's interesting how a public pledge and the mighty hand of a national campaign can motivate a busy mum with an impatient son in tow, to stop off at customer services and put in a simple suggestion that might help raise consumer awareness.

So while I stood writing out my letter to the manager....in the form of "Dear Waitrose.....can I have.....?", I dearly hoped that my idea to include some visible signs to their carton recycling facilities would be taken on board, rather than a "not on your nelly".

And if they do...that's what I'd call a Recycle Week result!

So keep your fingers crossed and if you find a similar opportunity to help your community waste less, remember the old saying..."If you don't ask, you don't get". And like the mind of an opportunist seven year old, even if you don't get, at least you know you've made a step in the right direction.



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Day 1: Rubbish Shopping

Now what's that old saying?

Ahh, that's it.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

I love that phrase and when it comes to shopping it seems very appropriate somehow. For instance, have a look at the photo and tell me what you see.

Is it just a week's shopping for a family of four?

Or is it a whole load of treats?

Perhaps it's a whole bunch of healthy ingredients?

Maybe it's not just this week's food, perhaps it's next week's wasted leftovers?

Now look at the packaging.

Do you see recycling opportunities?

Or are you looking at a pile of potential rubbish, like the picture of landfill below?

SETTING THE SCENE

When I look at that photo of my shopping, as well as anticipating the taste of the food and the satisfaction of a good meal, I am also staring at a table full of stuff that could end up in the bin. And that's what it's like when I go shopping these days, trying to avoid creating rubbish while I fill my basket. So, I try and buy loose wherever I can to avoid creating waste in the first place. After all, if it comes loose, that's one less thing to bung in the bin at home regardless of whether it's landfill or recycling. But if something comes in packaging, I always consider the opportunities for recycling as well as a complex combination of other facets including price, quality, shelf life, origins and its versatility as an ingredient.

Now I know focusing on zero waste isn't normal behaviour in many people's eyes and most people would think that it is a huge inconvenience to shop in this way, but the reality is that it doesn't actually take that much time and more and more people are following the simple methods.

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that when you start out with a zero waste challenge you have to look at things carefully and read the labels to find out if you can recycle certain packaging, but after a few more visits to the shops, you gradually become comfortable with the brands that serve you well and indeed the places and routines that help make a zero waste or minimal waste lifestyle a real possibility.

In business terms, it's as simple as "Outcome Thinking". You just look at your goal, which is a slimmer bin and then you make changes accordingly and most importantly you take small steps to incorporate rubbish-free choices into your life.

It just takes a little time and some research and very soon you'll find the ability to focus on products that create so little waste you'll be wondering how you created so much rubbish in the first place.

And a whole year later, you'll find yourself not looking back.

Well that's what happened to me, until I found myself wondering what it would actually be like to go back to my old shopping habits, like journeying through time to explore the kinds of things I would have bought on what would be a normal visit to the supermarket.

Don't get me wrong. My zero waste lifestyle hasn't meant that I've abandoned supermarkets, but where I used to rely on them 100% and NEVER visited the market, I now flirt between the market, supermarkets, farm shops and the farmers' market, depending on my routine.

So what I'm trying to say is, I fit shopping around my routine, instead of creating a routine specifically for shopping, picking things up "en route" on the way to somewhere else and buying little and often in accordance with what we really need. Shopping this way has been very liberating to say the least and has meant it's been easier to cope with my family's eating habits and has contributed to a life of less waste. With a monthly online delivery for basics and picking up fresh ingredients as I go along means it has become less of a chore.

So when considering going back to my "old ways", I was intrigued what it would be like if I did a whole week's shop in a supermarket, just like I used to. And my port of call just had to be our local Sainsbury's store not least because it's on my doorstep, but it's also supporting Red Nose Day too.

NOT SO CAREFUL PLANNING!

So on Sunday morning we pitched up and Little J and I were raring to go shopping in style.

But we'd not even entered the supermarket and we were already breaking away from my zero waste habits. You see, zero waste shopping is all about planning!


No.1: Never go shopping when hungry. It makes sense really. If you don't want to splash out on unecessary treats, always go shopping AFTER you've eaten. But oh dear, by the time we'd got ourselves sorted and got out of the house, our arrival time was 11am. I'd hoped we might make it home by 12pm, but the truth is we were at the supermarket for 2 hours...yes TWO HOURS ... shopping through lunchtime. Now that's a guaranteed way of buying more food than necessary if ever I've seen one!


No.2: Avoid taking the kids. It's a great idea to leave the kids at home, because they have an amazing way of making you buy more than you need. So the top tip is to leave the little people with your partner, family or friends allowing you to avoid anything from gentle persuasion to full blown pester power. I didn't quite manage to go child-free yesterday, but Little J came along to pester me in every aisle and indeed he did!


No.3: Choose the smallest trolley you can. The smaller your trolley, the less you'll fill it up. With my infrequent visits to the supermarket, my weapon of choice is normally a basket or a small trolley. But yesterday was different. We were on a mission to fill it with loads of goodies so we needed a cart that could hack it.


No. 4: Take a list. Now if you don't take a list, you're at risk of buying the whole shop and a whole load of packaging to go with it! I never used to write lists and I really used to bring home half the shop. Yesterday I was on a mission to achieve this ambition, so the list went on vacation to the black hole.


No.5: Take some reusable containers. Now it might be bizarre, but whenever I go to the farmshop, I take a container for the meat cuts and the butcher is happy to use them. They think it's a great idea and are alway happy to oblige. But when I go into a supermarket, I get put off by their health & safety regulations and corporate policies and the fear of feeling a freak. So I didn't bother with the containers yesterday and headed off to the meat aisle for alternative products.


No.6: Take some reusable bags: Oh dear, this was a toughie. I can't believe how long it took to train myself to remember my reusable bags and these days I don't leave home without them when I am off shopping. It's just an automatic action, like picking up my handbag and keys. But the only bags I have are for Waitrose, and I felt embarrassed taking them into a competitor's store. It's like taking in an advertising billboard.

So I thought I'd leave them behind and see if I could use the flimsy ones from the checkout instead. After all the challenge was to create as much rubbish as possible. But despite my bravado, it felt strange going shopping without bags and it was as if I'd forgotten something really important like my credit card or handbag, or indeed the children. It was an uncomfortable feeling indeed and I didn't like it. And as I walked through the store I really couldn't bear the thought of picking up the free flimsy ones at the check-out, even if I could reuse them or indeed recycle them.

But look at my discovery - special bags for Comic Relief. And the best thing was, they were made from 100% recycled plastic. Just look at that grin - what approval!

THE SUPERMARKET SWEEP

So when I went shopping yesterday, I was on a mission to find out two key things.

1. Whether I could shop without considering the packaging and forget the concept of zero waste
2. The role of the supermarket in making waste reduction choices easy.

No wonder it took me so long.


Checking out the packaging!

Before I got into the store I had images of me breezing through the supermarket, popping things into my trolley without considering the consequences of what I bought. That is how I used to shop before I started my zero waste challenge last year. I used to walk right in and I would put stuff into the trolley without looking at the packaging, not interested in the recycling symbols and not even thinking about where the packets end containers would end up.

I can't help wondering if this is how most people shop these days, or if much of society has changed too.

And could I hack it? Did I really manage to go all the way around the supermarket without considering the packaging at all, just like I used to.

Well, I'm afraid the answer to that is NO!

From the fruit and veg section to frozen foods, I still gave thought to whether products were loose or packaged in materials that could be recycled locally.

When I envisaged this task, I bravely thought I could grab a bunch of bananas and pop them in a plastic weigh bag and do exactly the same with other produce such as oranges and broccoli. Well that's what I used to do. That used to be my normal behaviour!

But the reality is, these kinds of products don't need to be put into bags. They can just be placed in the trolley loose and that's what I did. I'm afraid my automatic response of REDUCE was still working, as you'll see in the photo above.

And when it came to smaller produce such as grapes and tomatoes, I couldn't even bear to consider the option of punnets, and pulled out my Onya weigh bags, which I bought a couple of weeks ago and which were conveniently tucked away in my handbag for emergencies. Tomatoes in one bag and grapes in the other...and Bob's your Uncle!



But then came the carrots.

Blimmin' carrots!

At first, I popped just a few large ones in the trolley. Then I spotted that a bag of washed carrots was cheaper than buying loose. I couldn't believe my eyes.

How could that be?

So like a game of hokey-cokey I put my left arm into the trolley and pulled a carrot out, then in-out, in-out, I put them each and every one of them back in the box, replacing the loose produce with a packet of pre-washed carrots.

Sold to the woman with the price-sensitive head on her shoulders!

And the same happened with the Buy One Get One Free bags of apples. With two boys who can eat me out of house and home on the apple front, it was cheaper to buy pre-packaged than loose. Well I thought it was, I found it quite hard to compare with the price labelling.

What a palaver!

I normally get my fruit and veg from the market where I hand over my bag to the stallholder, saying "fill her up". No packaging in sight apart from the odd paper bag that ends up in my compost bin. No decision making needed.

Blimmin' 'eck. No wonder I felt exhausted by the fruit and veg section. Decision, decisions, eh. I really could have done with a cup of tea!

And that's what it was like for the rest of the two hours, with me not being able to forget about the packaging.

And as for purchasing things I don't normally buy, well that's another story!

One thing I have discovered from our zero waste experience is that I now concentrate on buying the things that we really need and avoiding the things we don't. I used to go to the supermarket and regularly spend £120 on a trolley full of treats, but through poor time management a lot of that used to go to waste. These days, our weekly groceries bill just comes to £60-£90, depending on whether we need cat food or toilet paper or other incidentals.

And shopping this way means I have become naturally focused and not distracted by the usual goody-bag top-ups. A good job really, because my willpower is virtually zilch!

And can't you tell.

With a combination of free-rein and pester power my inner shopper was most certainly unleashed!

In went the Sunday Newspaper - which I still haven't opened - along with a box of fresh cream cakes and a few ready meals, including a pizza and quiche. Well I have got a busy week this week, with no time to cook, so a busy mum needed an alternative solution. And thanks to my 7 year old companion there were biscuits, snack bars, crisps, chocolate mousses and a couple of chocolate eggs. And then some mini-cheeses, all individually wrapped up in a little net bag.

And I took advantage of the 3 for 2s in the juice aisle, filling up the trolley with juice cartons, which is something I gave up ages ago, because I don't have the space to store them for recycling. So in they went, six cartons, carefully placed in the trolley.

But there was one thing I just couldn't manage to buy, one particular product that I used to throw in my trolley week-by-week before doing the zero waste challenge.

Strawberry shaped yogurts, in a little net bag.

Lovely looking things and perfect for kids.

But to consume the contents, you have to suck the yoghurt through a teeny tiny opening at the top of the moulded packaging. Convenient for consuming but more cumbersome for recycling.

I was right on the brink of putting them in my trolley and they were just teetering on the edge when I reconsidered the consequences. Could I lazily throw out such packaging to landfill, when an ordinary yoghurt pot could be rinsed and at least have a chance of survival in Suffolk's recycling system?

Oh dear. I decided I couldn't but neither could I be bothered to cut them up to wash them out either.

So they went back on the shelf for someone else to buy.

I'm not very good at creating rubbish am I?

Out of everything, it was the strawberry shaped yoghurt pots, that highlighted I can no longer go shopping without considering the packaging that I put in my trolley.

I was still switching products in accordance with their recyclable credentials.

Oh the relief and cries of "Thank Goodness"!



But how easy was is it to shop waste-free at the supermarket?

The answer to this question is wholly dependent on where you live.

For me, I am confident that having bunged a whole range of goodies in the trolley, there is still hope for a zero-waste result. That is because we have such excellent recycling facilities in Bury St Edmunds that even pasta packaging can be taken to our Household Waste Recycling Centre as well as the plastic used for Cathedral City cheese - our little 4 year old's favourite.

But it's also due to improvements in package labelling, which is vital. And I couldn't help but notice how Sainsbury's packaging has changed and the majority of products I handled, particularly own brand goods had recycling advice for the consumer.

And you can't get bigger or bolder than the instructions on their own brand of Wholewheat Biscuits. The message is loud and clear!

"If every Sainsbury's customer recycled their cereal box, 750 tonnes of cardboard would be reused every year. That's the equivalent to 101 double-decker buses."



It also states that they were the first to make their cereal boxes smaller and are making sure that more of their packaging is environmentally friendly, indicating the box is now made from at least 85% recycled cardboard.

What a great message to pass onto the customers.

But it's not just the the message that's important.

In the words of Frank Carson, it's the way you tell 'em.

And on that packet of Wholewheat Biscuits, Sainsbury's got it just right.

You see, I went to pick up a normal packet of Weetabix, but my 7 year old bag of pester power stopped me in my tracks, clutching Sainsbury's own label alternative. He begged me to buy it because of the lovely picture of the double-decker bus! And he even had the cheek to say "Remember to recycle this carton", happily reading the picture of the post-it note on the back of the box as he held it gleefully in his hands.

Surely that's pester power at its best and if companies like Sainsbury's continue to harness the full potential of this bundle of eco-marketing fun in an ethical manner, then it's an all-round winner, I'm sure.

As I wandered around the store looking at the recycling messages on each item of packaging I picked up, it was encouraging to see the number of references to recycling polythene packaging in-store. And as for using the weigh-in bags, there were even reminders, asking customers whether they really need the bags in the first-place.

However, I couldn't help wondering if there was more that a supermarket could do to help encourage customers to reduce waste. Not just Sainsbury's but other supermarkets too.

Wouldn't it be great if they sold reusable Onya Weigh-in bags, or at least removed plastic bags from sections where they are not needed, such as next to the bananas. Branded containers would be great too, for people to reuse at the deli counters. Just like my local farmshop, it would be fabulous if they could trust customers with the responsiblity of washing them carefully before reuse.

I also think it would be invaluable if they worked more closely with the local authorities and displayed more useful recycling information around the store, promoting details that are relevant to the area. For example in Bury St Edmunds, we can recycle meat trays in our wheelie bins, as well as Tetrapacks at our recycling centre and even rice packaging can be taken there too. I couldn't help think that a few carefully placed signs would help raise awareness of this and add to the council's efforts. After all we're all in this together and it would be a prime example of joined up thinking

But at the end of the day, no matter what role the supermarkets play in waste reduction, it all comes down to individual shopping choices and the personal responsibility for recycling once you pack your boot and take the trolley to the trolley park.

"Your Rubbish Your Choice" is the slogan used by the Norfolk Waste Partnership, just over the border from Suffolk.

And they're quite right.

I couldn't quite leave my Zero Waste head behind yesterday but I still have an issue. When the food is gone I'll have some extra rubbish to deal with this week

But this rubbish is my responsibility. And with our excellent recycling facilities can I really let it all end up in landfill, where it will all go to waste, buried into the ground.

I really don't think so, but let's see at the end of the week shall we.

In the meantime, here's a reminder of what could actually happen to it.


Perhaps it's time to have a look at that picture of my shopping again.

And remember that "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Then look back at the photo of landfill, with the bin lorry regurgitating all that rubbish onto the ground.

I can safely say, I don't think I've really seen anything so ugly!

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Recycling Blame

It can't have escaped people's attention that recycling has hit the news again, this time with a Food Packaging Study from the Local Government Association, as part of its "War on Waste" campaign.

For anyone with an interest in waste minimisation this should be a real welcome report as it pays particular attention to the weight of food packaging that can be found in a typical shopping basket across eight supermarkets.

The survey revealed the following results:

• Waitrose had the heaviest packaging (802.5 grams)
  
• Lidl had the lowest level of packaging that could be easily recycled (58 per cent)
  
• Tesco had the lightest (645.5 grams)
  
• Sainsbury’s had the highest level of packaging that could be easily recycled (67 per cent).

While council leaders acknowledge that people are recycling more rubbish, they are also concerned that efforts are being held back by supermarkets. The LGA argues that supermarkets should pay a contribution towards recycling services so that more packaging can be recycled at an affordable price which will help keep council tax down.

Of course it will be no surprise that the British Retail Consortium has reacted to the report by calling on councils to improve recycling measures and reach a consensus on which materials can be recycled.

Well, I've got just one thing to say on the matter...

...but before I belt it out, I suggest you put your fingers in your ears as I take a deep breath and yell to the world.......

ARRRGH.....!

Don't get me wrong, the study has thrown up some interesting research and - quite rightly - the evidence should be reported. It is indeed a very useful report, with well-researched detail.

But while government representatives and retail bodies engage in an open air boxing match, I am worried that many consumers will be left looking on with either disregard or bemusement, feeling the lack of power to do something about it.

And then there's the recession to deal with. Don't forget we can always blame that too.

Oh well. That's it. We might as well bury our heads in the sand till it's over eh, when the economy is back on its legs, the supermarkets have ditched their unrecyclable packaging and the country has a perfect recycling system.

Or alternatively, we could continue to vote with our feet and our wallets, applying the small changes that make a huge difference, always looking out for alternatives...because they do exist and we still have the power of choice.

Well that's what I had to say on the matter today on the JVS show at BBC Three Counties Radio, while discussing recycling and the recession. If you're interested do tune into Listen Again where you'll find me defending the issue at roughly 2 hours 47 minutes into the programme.

I only hope I've convinced the lovely JVS to carry on washing out his yoghurt pots! You've got to keep an eye on him you know. Perhaps I should have suggested he has a go at making his own!

Well you have to keep cheerful don't you!

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Popping over to Waitrose (with my reusable bags)

I know that I've been promoting Independent Shops lately and I still stand by my convictions to support our local traders as part of my Zero Waste challenge. However yesterday, despite it being market day I chose to pop over to Waitrose.

I was in a rush and having hurt my back recently I needed the support of the trolley to carry the weight of the shopping, so a quick visit to my favourite supermarket fitted the bill nicely. I still managed to do the shop successfully with limited packaging (hoorah)...and (no doubt much to your relief)... this is where this particular monotonous tale ends.

What is much more interesting is that I also popped over to Waitrose's Managing Director's blog, where Mark Price posts regularly about work, family and his healthy eating plan.

One of his latest posts is very interesting indeed, where just a couple of days ago he discussed the issue of banning/taxing plastic bags.

I deliberately kept quiet about this topic when it hit the headlines last week as it holds little relevance to me. Although I am glad to see the country wake up to the disposable plastic lifestyle that we all take for granted, I regard plastic bags as just the thin layer of landfill icing that sits on a huge stodgy cake of unrecycled packaging, disposable products and food waste.

So it was highly pertinent to read Mark Price's thoughts on the whole plastic bag thing and I agree with him that aside from plastic bags, the country needs to address "the much bigger issue of resource management".

In his post, Mr Price offers the following facts: "Domestic household waste represents 9% of all UK waste, compared to 32% construction and demolition and 29% mining and quarrying. Packaging in general represents 25% of household waste, with carrier bags themselves representing just 0.3% of household waste".

When you look at things this way, it is possible to dig deep into the layers of landfill that the country creates and see the benefit of giving one's life a gradual makeover, changing habits that go beyond the notorious plastic bags, just as I have done with the Zero Waste challenge. However, I draw the line at quarrying for my own stone and building my own house, you will be relieved to hear.

What was real music to my ears is Mark Price's statement towards the end of his post, where he confirms that Waitrose "will continue to recycle plastic carriers returned from our customers but keep our real focus on the big issues of packaging and food waste, sustainability and health and well being".

Now that is fantastic! I don't know much about the other supermarkets but I hope that the "giants" in particular Asda, Sainbury's and Tesco are doing the same. They've signed up to the Courtauld Commitment, with the aim of reducing the amount of packaging and rubbish that ends up in our bins, so progress is hopefully going in the right direction. According to RecycleNow, supermarkets and producers are making great in-roads. However the latest news is that as a result of reducing primary packaging that sits on the shelves, in certain cases there has been an increase in the packaging used to transport the goods.

Oh dilemmas, dilemmas! What a complicated world we live in! It just goes to show that managing packaging is not easy, whether you're a consumer at home or whether you run a huge national supermarket chain.

Anyway, I thought I would share the details that I happened to email Mark Price's office last weekend, politely inviting him to comment on packaging on his blog. A personal message goes our to Mr Price to thank him for doing that. Whether his comments are as a result of my cheeky email or simply just a happy coincidence, I am just pleased to hear that my regular supermarket is looking at the bigger picture and taking the right action, which makes me a happier customer indeed.

You can read Mark Price's post To Ban or Not to Ban at The Grocer's Blog:

http://www.waitrose.com/blog/entry.aspx?uid=8c77ae06-4566-46f8-9981-810b5f594e46

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