Research and development work into boosting the recyclability of plastic milk bottles is to be launched by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme).WRAP is inviting tenders to develop a cost-effective label, ink and adhesive system for use on HDPE milk bottles that will not contaminate the plastic during recycling, with the aim of encouraging its greater use in new bottle manufacture. WRAP’s target is for 50% of the milk industry’s capacity to commit to implementing the new system... ...Read more »
The use of disposable plastic bags is in steep decline as shoppers in their thousands switch to permanent shopping bags in the United Kingdom, according to Tesco. Tesco, the leading UK retailer, has reported that customers have saved a staggering two billion carrier bags since Green Clubcard Points were launched in August 2006. The Green Clubcard Points system, which operates like a loyalty rewards system whereby consumers are awarded points for “putting the environment first”, has been... ...Read more »
Coles has announced a scheme to encourage consumers to return plastic bags to their stores to celebrate Landcare Week (1-7 September). For each plastic shopping bag returned to Coles throughout September, the retailer will donate money towards the Junior Landcare School Garden Grant program - a nationwide initiative that allows schools, kindergartens and community groups to develop environmental projects such as water-efficient gardens. Coles Environment Manager, Paul Lang, believes Junior Landcare... ...Read more »
Coles is among the first retailers in Australia to implement a natural refrigerant system in its new Ropes Crossing store, opening this September. The system will eliminate up to 700 tonnes from the store’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. The Ropes Crossing development was completed with the assistance of the Green Cooling Council, a not-for-profit organisation founded by members and suppliers of the refrigeration industry. The Green Cooling Council (formerly the NRTB) has been working with... ...Read more »
Marks & Spencer announced yesterday that it has achieved an 80% reduction in the total number of food carrier bags used since the UK-wide launch of carrier bag charging in early May. The company reports that such a figure means that M&S customers have used about 70 million less plastic bags in the last ten weeks alone. With all profits from the 5p charge going to charity, in the same period, over £200,000 has been raised for M&S’ environmental charity partner, Groundwork. The money... ...Read more »
Online grocery retail has proven incredibly successful in the UK in recent years and has already been touted as an environmentally-friendly option - as it could reduce traffic on the road. Waitrose, however, has taken the next step by becoming the first major UK retailer to use bicycles to deliver groceries to the homes of its online customers. Employees from the food shop’s branch in Cambridge branch will be ‘saddling up’ to make deliveries using an eco-bicycle and trailer. The move... ...Read more »
The UK’s leading supermarket operator, Tesco, is planning to cut its carbon footprint by using straw to power its business.Tesco has been given the go ahead to build Britain’s first ever straw-powered Combined Heat and Power plant to meet the electricity and heating needs of its Goole Distribution Centre. The new plant will generate 5MW of electrical power - enough energy to run eight Tesco Superstores. “We’ve set ourselves stretching targets to reduce the carbon intensity... ...Read more »
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today released a decision proposing to grant authorisation to the Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) to conduct a four-week trial of a 10c charge for lightweight plastic shopping bags. The trial is proposed to take place at Coles Supermarkets, Woolworths Supermarkets and IGA retailers in Narre Warren, Wangaratta and Warrnambool in Victoria. The pilot program, conceived in consultation with the Victorian Government, is proposed... ...Read more »
Forty UK food and drink companies yesterday pledged to make fewer and friendlier food transport miles, signing up to the Food and Drink Federation’s (FDF) Environmental Checklist and Clause for Greener Food Transport. The FDF believe this is yet another step forward by the food and drink manufacturing industry towards making a real difference to the environment. The signatories, including some of the biggest household brands in the world, have committed to using the ten point checklist in order... ...Read more »
CSIRO research, underway in Central Queensland’s cattle country, is investigating whether the integration of trees, pasture and livestock into a single agricultural system will produce greater net returns for producers and the environment. The ’silvopastoralism’ system is gaining worldwide attention as a potentially profitable land-use practice, particularly following the emergence of new market opportunities such as carbon trading. CSIRO Livestock Industries’ (CLI) project... ...Read more »