On Thursday 31 January 2025, we hosted our second People Planet Profit event – Packaging and Waste.
Nearly 40 representatives from local food and drink businesses came along to discover what they could do to improve the sustainability of their packaging and food waste practices.
In order to ensure the long term impact of this event, we have collated the notes, slides, and information from the day below to be accessed by anyone, regardless if you were able to attend on the day or not.
A big thank you to all our speakers for sharing your insights and allowing to share the below information.
We hope you find this useful!
“Food waste reduction and the new Simpler Recycling legislation”, Annette Dentith, Principal Waste Manager at Devon County Council
Access the “Food waste reduction and the new Simpler Recycling legislation” slides here
Please note that ‘The Tip’ is a recycling centre, not a dump. It’s encouraging to know that there is hardly any landfill in Devon now. However, there are still 10 million tonnes of food waste and 1.6 million tonnes of farm waste generated each year in Devon, which could be significantly reduced.
We were all surprised to learn that you can use any bag to contain your food waste, as the machine removes the compostable liner and will do the same if it’s a plastic bag.
It was encouraging to learn that the redistribution of food ‘waste’ has significantly increased over the past few years. This includes redistribution to organizations such as Fareshare, Exeter Food Action, community fridges, Too Good To Go, and Food in Community (South Hams/Totnes).
From 1st April it is a legal obligation for businesses to have recycling collection, however for businesses of less than 10 employees this comes into force in 2027.
- environment agency will enforce compliance
- Find out more at Businesswaste.co.uk
- WRAP – useful for info on waste
Speak to your current waste disposal company to see what the plans are.
The reality of compostable packaging for rubbish collection is quite surprising. Unless it’s placed on a compost heap, it ends up in landfill. Kerb-side compost caddies can’t handle compostable cups and similar items. This revelation was quite shocking for the attendees. Annette is going to look into this further and hopes to provide updated information.
There was extensive discussion about the best disposable food packaging to use, but no definitive answers emerged. However, it was acknowledged that this is an evolving area, and we are in a period of transition. We can be hopeful that better solutions will emerge in the near future!
“New packaging regulations and how to get better value waste disposal solutions”, Sara Binti-Azizi, Marketing Manager of Binit
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) intends to shift the cost to producers rather than consumers.
Pack UK has only just began (Jan 2025) – this should be a useful resource to learn more.
While EPR is starting for businesses with turnover of more than £1mil, your business may be affected if turnover is less than £1mil….
For example, if your products are branded but made by another company, it is your responsibility to ensure they are compliant with EPR.
The positives for your business? Data is required for EPR which provides real info on recycled materials and this may be useful for your eco-marketing.
Negatives? EPR may increase costs.
How can you alleviate the costs? Recycling is cheaper to dispose of than landfill. If you aren’t fully recycling then your disposal costs may go down. You can ask your commercial waste company to provide info and training for staff.
“Desperately seeking sustainability: approaching alternative materials”, Jess Magill, Co-founder, Powderkeg Brewery
Jess shared Powderkeg’s journey in finding a non-plastic label, driven by a strong desire to avoid fossil fuels and plastics made from deliberately grown crops. For small production runs, printing directly onto cans wasn’t an option. They ultimately found a solution with Forest Film.
“Boxway Packaging Group sustainability journey” Tom Fooks, Business Development Manager, Boxway Packaging
Access the “Boxway Packaging Group sustainability journey” slides here
Tom Fooks from Boxway introduced us to some of their corrugated carboard products that incorporate recycled content and are recyclable. These products feature various new technologies, making them suitable for a wide range of uses, including freezing.
“What exactly is local and healthy? Food labelling legislation and terminology: know the law”, Sherry Durrant, Deputy Lead Food Standards Officer, Heart of the Southwest Trading Standards
Sherry Durrant concluded the morning’s presentations with a detailed exploration of labelling requirements. Attendees were interested to learn that businesses can send one label to Trading Standards for a free compliance review. For more than one label, charges will apply.
Her presentation includes a lot of useful links for you to explore the requirements for your business.
Sherry also highlighted that there are restrictions on using certain terms, such as “local” or “healthy,” and these must be seen on both products and on websites.
Thank you to Katie Cross, founder of Cake or Death for the delicious brownies and the insight into her plastic free packaging journey.
Future info
The event was a collaboration between Propser Business Support and Devon Food Partnership, supported by Food Drink Devon.
A reminder to all that there is FREE business support available. Sign up to your regions Growth Hub for one-to-one support and to hear about all of the business support events available.
Sign up to Devon Food Partnership to hear about events, funding, and news for hospitality, food & drink producers and procurement.
Useful links/reading
Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Circular Economy
Explore the food section of the website. Here you will find case studies and ongoing projects, such as our Big Food Redesign Challenge which seeks to create a better food system for the environment by bringing together producers, retailers, start-ups, and suppliers to design new food products to regenerate nature.