Your say / Environment
‘The single-use system is failing us all – and the people of Bristol know it’
This World Refill Day (June 16), let’s be clear: the single-use system is failing us all – and the people of Bristol know it.
We see it in the overflowing bins on our high streets, in our own recycling waste, on plastic-strewn beaches of our coastlines.
And we see it in the frustration of shoppers who want to do the right thing but can’t find reusable alternatives.
is needed now More than ever
We know the public appetite for change is there.
Our latest national polling shows that 74 per cent of people in the UK want more brands and retailers to offer reusable and refillable packaging – yet just 18 per cent know where to find it.
Here in Bristol, the home of City to Sea and its Refill Return app, we know that change is possible.
We’ve seen first hand how grassroots action and smart policy can drive behaviour change.
Boston Tea Party are trailblazers in introducing reusable cups and we have a host of fantastic zero waste stores like Better Food and Scoop.
But the sad fact is that, if we’re serious about reducing single-use plastic pollution, individuals and independents can only go so far.
It’s the ‘take, make, waste’ system that needs to change.
Why is it so hard to break the habit?
There’s been a stalemate between consumers, retailers and government, where each is waiting for the other to take action.
Consumers say: “We’d use reusable packaging if it were easier.”
Retailers say: “There’s no demand.”
Governments say: “Let’s see what the market does.”
Supermarkets run short-term reuse trials, but struggle to make the numbers add up because it’s scale and volume in their businesses that delivers the big returns.
And the profits are significant.
UK supermarkets report huge returns every year.
Meanwhile our local councils are struggling to manage our waste and taking measures to try and save taxes and increase recycling, for example North Somerset has recently reduced black bin collection to every three weeks.
This is why the UK Government is introducing Extended Producer Responsibility, a tax calling for the producer to pay for the management of the waste they generate.
Soon selling products in cheap ‘disposable’ packaging is going to be a whole lot more expensive, this is designed to cover the £2bn waste management bill in the UK that we’re currently funding in our taxes.
But will new taxes incentivise reuse alongside recycling?
City to Sea are an environmental organisation on a mission to stop plastic pollution. Running people-powered, community–serving campaigns that help individuals and businesses to change the world – photo: City to Sea
This World Refill Day, we’re calling for 30 by 30 – a commitment to make 30 per cent of all packaging in the UK reusable by 2030.
To get there, we need bold leadership from all sides.
Government must set legally binding reuse targets and reinvest the fees collected through the Extended Producer Responsibility tax into building a national reuse infrastructure.
This is the way the system works in France and they are leading the way.
Retailers and brands must start collaborating and scaling up reuse across product lines, store formats and delivery models – backed by real incentives.
Starting with ‘own brand’ offers the lowest hanging fruit where supermarkets have more control over the supply and manufacturing. We know it’s possible.
Already 51 per cent of people in the UK say they return packaging to a collection point at least monthly and 30 per cent bring their own reusable container to cafés and takeaways.
You can refill your shampoo in Body Shop and other stores, and it’s actually cheaper once you’ve paid for the container at a few pounds.
These aren’t niche behaviours, they are growing movements – but they still need backing.
This summer, governments from around the world will reconvene for the final round of negotiations on a UN Global Plastics Treaty.
It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to agree binding measures that phase down single-use plastic and scale up reuse systems globally.
Important – because there is literally no time to waste.
We can lead from our own neighbourhoods – from Bristol, from the UK, from the high streets and supermarkets
that shape our daily lives.
At City to Sea, we’ve launched the Five Day Challenge to show how small changes like swapping out bottled water or takeaway containers for reusable ones, can have a huge impact when we do it together.
If just 10 per cent of us got our takeaway coffees in a reusable cup this week, we’d save over 3.5m cups from landfill.
We’ve also built the Refill Return app, with more than 330,000 Refill Stations globally, helping people find places to eat, drink and shop with less waste.
More than half a million people have already downloaded it – because they want to do the right thing. We just need to make it easier for them.
In their research they also say the UK is facing a growing green skills gap – photo: City to Sea
Bristol has never been afraid to pioneer – from tackling air pollution to leading community energy.
We’ve got the creativity, the community spirit and the urgency to lead the reuse revolution.
What we need now is action from those with the greatest power – and the greatest responsibility.
So, this World Refill Day, I invite businesses, councils and citizens to join us in breaking the habit of single-use.
Let’s demand better from our supermarkets, more leadership from Government, and let’s back the people already making changes.
Together, we can make reuse the new normal – move beyond single-use and protect the oceans, one reusable swap at a time.
This is an opinion piece by Jane Martin, CEO of City to Sea.
If you would like to write an opinion piece to be featured on the website, please send an email to ed-team@bristol247.com with your opinion piece idea and we will get back to you with instructions on the next steps.
All photos: City of Sea
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