North East, UK - Waste Management & Biomass News April 2021 Compiled by 1st Choice Waste

Waste management and biomass fuels are never far from the UK news. With World Earth Day during April, US President Biden hosting a conference of world leaders and the UK being the world’s first major economy to present a net zero Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, this month has been more newsworthy than most. 1st Choice Waste (waste management and biomass company in Teesside) compiles the most interesting of the recent news.

World Earth Days – 51st Anniversary

On April 22nd, the 51st World Earth Day was celebrated and President Biden hosted a conference of 40 world leaders to discuss the issue of climate change. At the conference and in a statement posted on The White House website, President Biden President Biden fulfilled his promise to rejoin the Paris Agreement and set a course for the United States to tackle the climate crisis at home and abroad, reaching net zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050. As part of re-entering the Paris Agreement, he also launched a whole-of-government process, organized through his National Climate Task Force, to establish this new 2030 emissions target – known as the “nationally determined contribution” or “NDC,” a formal submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Call for clarity on bio-plastics labelling

Responses to a Government consultation have expressed fears that some plastics marketed as ‘biodegradable’ may not biodegrade in real-life conditions and could encourage littering by offering a false reassurance to the public, reports Will Hatchett of MRW.co.uk.

Many respondents also reflected widely expressed concerns that oxo-biodegradable plastics could pollute the environment with microplastics.

Responses to the consultation from Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Defra said current terms are confusing and can be overlapping. Biodegradable plastics are designed to break down into water, biomass, carbon dioxide and methane. Those which are ‘bio-based’ are made from natural plant-based polymers, such as starch or cellulose.

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Some of these products are marketed as ‘compostable’, but industrial rather than domestic composting conditions are optimal. Plastics referred to ‘oxo-degradable’ or ‘oxo-biodegradable’, contain added prodegradant chemicals, designed to assist biodegradation.

The Government agreed that the term ‘bio-plastics’ is “ambiguous and offers little value to the public”.

It says labeling should be clear and explain whether products are bio-based and/or biodegradable and how they should be disposed of correctly. It notes: “Such clarity would bring benefits in waste management through helping to ensure different materials are sorted correctly.”

The Government said bio-based plastics, especially those made from organic sources such as food waste, could reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Compostable plastics also have the potential to ensure less food waste ends up in landfill.

It added: “It is essential that the right evidence is gathered to ensure that the solutions we chose today do not cause greater complications for tomorrow…we would welcome further research on the full environmental impacts of using bio-based plastics.”

You can read our full Waste Management April News here: 1stchoicewastegroup.co.uk/waste-management-biomass-news-april-2021/