| Lib Dem MP takes on non-bottle plastics recycling
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 29 January 2008
A Liberal Democrat MP wants the government to do more to help the reprocessing of non-bottle plastic packaging in the waste stream.
Mike Hancock, MP for Portsmouth South, last week raised the issue of non-bottle plastics with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in the hope that it would "prompt the government to do something" about it.
His parliamentary assistant said that, given the public's willingness to recycle, it "seemed a nonsense" that non-bottle plastic waste went to landfill or was sent overseas.
Hancock wants the government to help "generate demand" for recycled plastics, but said consumers could also play their part by making sure they put plastics in the recycling bin.
"Industry has to respond by avoiding excesses in the first place, and using materials that are easily recycled in the UK."
Hancock was among the MPs who backed the Early Day Motion in February 2007 that called on supermarkets to reduce packaging and supported The Independent's "excessive" packaging campaign. |
