Take a stand and address single-use items and throwaway culture rather than just plastics, says Zero Waste Scotland
Zero Waste Scotland has warned that the current focus on plastics is distracting from the real issue of ending disposable throwaway culture, and has urged Scots to take a stand against unwanted extra materials in their daily lives.
The environmental organisation is calling on people to use the period of Climate Week, running from 7th to 13th October, to make a point of refusing materials that are frequently added to the items that are bought everyday.
Four fifths of Scotland’s carbon footprint is generated through the heat and energy required to grow, make, process, transport, and provide materials that are often discarded at the end of their life.
This could be reduced dramatically by addressing single-use habits, as much of the current focus on simply eradicating plastic can replace one environmental problem with another.
Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “We desperately need to reduce the amount that we consumer, and we can make a significant start by rejecting unnecessary single-use items and unwanted extras.”
“The power lies with people to both make changes and ask businesses to do more. Consumers can speak up, in person and on social media, to make it known that companies need to up their game.”
“In the backdrop of climate change and a rising population, it’s fantastic that more people are switched on to environmental issues. It’s critical that we make good decisions for the environmental, and we can do that by reducing our reliance on all unnecessary single-use items.”
“In response to public pressure on single-use plastic, the first reaction from most businesses is to make their single-use items from some other material.”
“The problem is not single-use plastics, it is single-use. There is no single-use answer to the single-use problem. Many single-use things could just as well be reusable.”