- Can you provide an overview of the current scale of London's packaging footprint and how it impacts carbon emissions across the supply chain?
Our research shows that London residents and visitors (commuters and tourists), and London-based businesses and institutions consume a staggering 2.21 million tonnes of packaging per year. Most of this packaging – including plastic, paper, glass and other materials - has a very short life cycle, and only 36% is recycled.
London’s packaging consumption and disposal is responsible for 4.1 million tonnes of CO2eq per year – equivalent to around half of all transport emissions in London.Plastic packaging is the biggest contributor to this, contributing around 1.9 million tonnes of CO2eq a year to London’s carbon footprint – this is similar to the emissions generated by London’s entire fashion supply chain (2 million tonnes CO2eq).
The vast majority (76%) of greenhouse gas emissions associated with London’s packaging supply chain have already arisen by the time the packaging leaves the factory gate, before it is even filled with product. The next largest source of emissions is the incineration of packaging waste – mainly plastic – which contributes to 20% of London’s packaging emissions. Both of those two carbon hotspots could be significantly improved through increasing packaging reuse and recycling in London.
- What are some of the key challenges faced in reducing packaging waste in London, and how do these challenges impact carbon emissions?
There are a number of factors that make it challenging to reduce packaging waste in London. Firstly, we can’t deny that packaging brings many benefits: protecting our goods from breakage, damage and tampering, keeping food and medicines fresher for longer, supporting food safety, providing information about the goods, making shipping easier, enabling global trade, and providing convenience.
Global packaging production and consumption has grown exponentially over the past decades, especially for plastic packaging. Here in London we are using (and wasting) much greater volumes of packaging than ever before. We value ease and convenience when purchasing packaged food and products on the go. Equally, a surge in online shopping means more of our purchases are delivered in single-use packaging, clogging up our recycling bins with mountains of cardboard boxes, and filling our bins with single-use plastic like bubble wrap and soft plastic wrapping.
A lack of adequate recycling infrastructure to process the volumes of packaging materials, notably for soft plastics, compounded with a lack of affordable, convenient and widespread refill and reuse options for food, drinks, goods and products for businesses and citizens makes it highly challenging to reduce packaging waste and reduce the volume sent for incineration.
The reduction, reuse and recycling of packaging materials are key elements of a low-carbon circular city. Reducing what we consume, and keeping materials in use for longer, has a direct impact on the CO2e emissions generated by the production, transportation and disposal of packaging materials.
Although plastic packaging has a relatively low carbon footprint per packaging item, it is the biggest contributor to London’s packaging-related carbon footprint, due to its widespread use and its low recycling rates combined with high incineration rates. It also contributes significantly to litter in the natural environment.
Plastic packaging consumption in London is 379,000 tonnes annually and the associated greenhouse gas emissions of this plastic packaging are 1.9 million tonnes CO2eq. This is similar to the emissions generated by London’s fashion supply chain (2 million tonnes CO2eq).
- How is ReLondon working to raise awareness and promote sustainable packaging solutions across the city?
Progress starts with raising our awareness and understanding of how packaging materials move through London’s supply chain. Last October we published, London’s packaging footprint, a report focusing on the flow of packaging materials and their associated emissions in order to support city-wide policy-making and the implementation of localised actions. The insights from this report can help city stakeholders understand where greenhouse gas emission hotspots are across the packaging supply chain and where actions should be focused to reduce emissions stemming from London’s packaging system.
We are also working with London Councils and the London borough of Richmond upon Thames on the development of a London plastics pledge. The aim of the pledge is to reduce problematic single-use plastics in council operations and set an example of best practice to local communities and local businesses.
- Could you elaborate on how ReLondon is helping businesses transition to a circular economy, particularly when it comes to packaging?
ReLondon’s business transformation programme supports circular economy innovators to scale their solutions to single use plastics and packaging, including products made from recycled materials, reusable packaging systems, plastic alternatives, and models that remove packaging entirely. At the same time, we support everyday businesses to explore and shift to circular economy models such as refill and reusables.
- What initiatives has ReLondon introduced to encourage the use of more sustainable packaging materials, such as those with higher recycled content or those designed for reuse?
Through our business transformation programme, we’ve provided support (business/strategic and/or grants) to numerous innovators in this space who are either enabling reuse systems or are providers of more sustainable packaging materials. A few examples include:
- NotPla - seaweed-based packaging
- Aeropowder - thermal packaging material made with waste feathers
- EnvoPAP - packaging made from agricultural residue
- Packamama - flat wine bottles made from recycled plastic
- Moree - reusable packaging (bags for coffee, frozen goods, etc)
- ClubZero, CauliBox, Reuser - reusable takeaway food & drink packaging
In addition, through our High Streets Beyond Waste programme, we've supported a range of high street businesses across London to implement reusable cup schemes. Currently, six businesses are trialling reusables (mostly coffee cups, although one business is trialling reusable cups for drinks in a bar); five are offering/encouraging refill, helping to reduce packaging use by customers; and seven are taking measures to reduce packaging they buy/use in their own operations.
We’re also supporting London Councils in its vision to eliminate unnecessary plastic items and enable circularity of plastics, including through the development of a pledge for London boroughs to reduce their consumption of single-use plastics and the associated consumption-based carbon emissions.
- Could you share some successful case studies where local businesses have made significant progress in improving packaging sustainability? What actionable solutions were implemented?
Through our High Streets Beyond Waste programme, we’ve supported a number of high street businesses across London with grant funding to enable them to try out a new ‘beyond waste’ initiative – helping them and their customers reuse, repair, rent, share and recycle more.
Some of them have implemented some actionable and effective solutions to reduce consumption and disposal of various packaging materials. For example: Blue Check, a restaurant & bar located in Wembley now serve drinks in reusable plastic cups in place of single-use plastic cups – their location near Wembley Arena means they’re unable to serve drinks in glasses. Since introducing the reusable cups, they’ve saved at least 21,000 single-use plastic cups from going to waste. As well as the obvious environmental benefit, switching to refillable cups is helping the business save approximately £500 per month - plus their customers prefer it, knowing they’re making a more sustainable choice.
Mont 58 Coffee in Lewisham has also reduced single-use packaging by introducing reusable coffee cups. They’ve given out more than 70 reusable cups so far, with great feedback from customers who have enjoyed the incentive of a discount whenever they bring their cup.
Kanpai London Craft Sake in Southwark has introduced refillable bottles for sake. During their two-month trial they replaced 66 single-use bottles and measured a 50% bottle return rate for refills. Similarly, Renegade Urban Winery in Walthamstow has replaced single-use glass bottles with wine on tap, eliminating approximately 80% of its glass use and disposal.
- How is ReLondon working to improve recycling infrastructure in the city to ensure better management and recycling of packaging materials?
ReLondon has been working in partnership with the Greater London Authority and London’s boroughs since its creation to improve waste and resource management in the capital. Most recent and innovative projects include the Flats Recycling Package which supports housing providers, building managers and service providers to make recycling easier for people living in flats, and the Flats Above Shops project which aims to better understand and address the unique challenges that residents who live in flats above shops face with regards to managing their waste and recycling.
- How do you collaborate with local government, businesses, and other stakeholders to promote systemic changes in packaging practices?
Tackling London’s packaging footprint and driving more circular approaches at city level requires action across multiple sectors. Following the publication of our research London’s packaging footprint, ReLondon is working alongside the Mayor of London and London Councils to continue to accelerate the transition to a low carbon circular economy in London by taking action to reduce wasteful packaging across 3 key pillars:
- Improving waste services to capture packaging for recycling and ensuring it gets recycled, aligning efforts with upcoming regulation changes including Simpler Recycling, Extended Producer Responsibility and the Deposit Return Scheme.
- Delivering initiatives that will reduce the amount of packaging placed on the market, including through refill and reuse.
- Driving change through the procurement practices of large public and private institutions, through requesting that their suppliers shift to lower carbon and more reusable packaging.
- What role do public awareness and education play in your efforts to reduce packaging waste and carbon emissions in London?
Tackling London’s packaging waste and related carbon emissions calls for systemic change, which means looking at all the different players in the system – and that includes all of us in our role as citizens - so public awareness and education plays a really key role.
Our flagship campaign London Recycles, run on behalf of the Mayor of London, gives Londoners clear communications about which plastic and packaging items they can recycle and which they cannot. In recent years the campaign has expanded to include messages on plastic and packaging waste prevention and reduction, as well as encouraging people to choose items that are re-usable, easily recyclable and/or include recycled content, as well as refill and packaging-free initiatives.
Equally, the Greater London Authority and London’s boroughs have been taking a variety of actions to address single-use plastics waste and pollution, including education campaigns and events, schemes to encourage better business practices and creating ‘Low Plastic’ or ‘Plastic Free’ zones. Projects to eliminate certain types of packaging or provide Londoners with packaging-free solutions have included launching the Mayor’s Refill London scheme to highlight the 4000+ locations across the city where people can access free drinking water – be it a public water fountain, transport hub or a café or local business.
- Looking ahead, what steps can London take to lead the way in reducing packaging waste, and how can the city transition to a more low-carbon, circular economy in the next decade?
Transitioning London’s packaging supply chain to a circular economy is urgent, not only to reduce the amount of waste generated in London – and its associated costs – but also to tackle the city’s consumption-based emissions.There are three key ways London can support the transition towards a low carbon circular packaging system. These are:
- Increasing the amount of recycled content in plastic packaging
- Reducing single-use plastic packaging placed on the market, including through packaging refill and reuse
- Increasing collection and recycling rates for all packaging waste
These measures have the potential to reduce London’s packaging carbon footprint by 23% – or almost 1 million tonnes of CO2e per year, the equivalent of removing over a third of car traffic in London.
To drive action in London, collaboration across stakeholders - including local and national policymakers, private players, and research and academic institutions - is required to:
- Improve waste services to capture packaging for recycling and ensure it gets recycled.
- Deliver initiatives that will reduce single-use packaging placed on the market, including through refill and reuse.
- Deliver change through the procurement practices of large public and private institutions.
Pursuing a more circular economy not only presents opportunities to reduce ecological degradation, but also provides opportunities to generate new economic value and jobs at a local level – whether that’s through product innovation or the development of local material loops, logistics and infrastructure to circulate the material back to new uses. London (and other cities) have a crucial role to play in creating a circular economy - for all types of materials and resources but especially for packaging.
For more information, please visit www.relondon.gov.uk