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Reducing packaging waste
01/04/2009
A new campaign encouraging households to reduce, reuse and recycle every day product packaging has been launched.
The Positive Package website, set up Waste Aware Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government, also provides advice, tips and information on how recycling can save natural resources and limite the amount of waste sent to landfill.
Initial activity of the campaign focuses on Easter egg packaging, pushing the message that in terms of packaging: 'less is more this Easter'. 
Launching the campaign at an Eco School in Perth, Minister for Environment Roseanna Cunningham said:
"I am delighted to help launch Waste Aware Scotland's new campaign. Packaging is a key area in relation to waste. Some packaging helps protect products and can make them last longer, which can reduce waste. Equally, though, excess packaging is wasteful.
"The Scottish Government is supporting work on the reduction of unnecessary packaging and this campaign serves as a timely reminder of the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling packaging. Achieving a greener Scotland depends on all of us - and will benefit us all too."
The campaign coincides with ongoing initiatives by a range of brands and retailers to reduce packaging waste through their involvement with the Courtauld Commitment - a voluntary agreement that supports less packaging and food waste ending up in household bins.
Current examples of what leading brands and retailers are doing in this respect include:
- The Co-operative has reduced its own-brand Easter egg packaging by 26 per cent while making it easier to separate the components for recycling
- Sainsbury's has reduced packaging on its showcase Taste the Difference eggs by 55 per cent over the last three years and has reduced packaging across the whole range by 37 per cent in that period. All packaging is 100 per cent recyclable and made from at least 75 per cent recycled material
- Marks & Spencer has reduced its Easter Egg packaging by 30 per cent since 2008
- Nestlè has removed plastic inserts from 80% of its Easter eggs, making them much easier for consumers to recycle, and has cut the packaging on every Easter egg it sells, with an overall 30 percent reduction across the range
- Mars achieved a 42 per cent reduction in the weight of cardboard used for its Easter eggs, saving 200 tonnes of cardboard per year
Dr Nicki Souter, campaigns manager at Waste Aware Scotland said:
"Packaging plays an important role in protecting and preserving the products we buy and in most cases we couldn't do without it. That said, there are many things we can all do to limit the amount of waste that packaging generates, such as looking for products with less packaging or reusing things like carrier bags and refillable products.
"Over and above that, we can also all recycle more of our packaging, as this can then be used again to make new products."
The Courtauld Commitment is a voluntary agreement between WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) and 31 grocery retailers, suppliers and leading brands who have signed up with the intention of reducing food and packaging waste. Its main aims are:
- Design out grocery packaging waste growth by 2008
- This first objective has been met despite increases in sales and population.
- Deliver absolute reductions in packaging waste by 2010
- Help reduce the amount of food UK householders throw away by 155,000 tonnes by 2010, against a 2008 baseline
Waste Aware Scotland is a national campaign run by the Scottish Waste Awareness Group to raise awareness of, and change public attitudes and behaviour towards Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The campaign is delivered at a local level through a range of campaigning activities and in parallel with the implementation phase of the National Waste Plan for Scotland.
Waste Aware Scotland is a programme of Keep Scotland Beautiful. Keep Scotland Beautiful is an operating name of Environmental Campaigns (Scotland).
Waste Aware Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government, as part of their commitment to a Greener Scotland.