As we are now enjoying the very best the UK summer has to offer, it can only mean that the festival season is well and truly underway. Recent festivals have included the Isle of Wight Festival as well as the ever popular Glastonbury Festival. For the first time in years neither of these festivals has managed to sell out all their tickets, however the relatively new (by comparison) Lattitude festival has proved to be more popular that ever. For the first time in it’s history this festival has truly adopted an ethical green mantra, marking a unique change of direction for UK festivals. Although this festival is only in its third year the organizes believe that conducting the festival catering and supplies in a green and ethical manner makes the festival highly appealing to the more ethical minded punter, and aligns with favorably with popular societal environmental trends.
Although the festival serves to highlight the need to place more emphasis on environmental concerns, it proves to be a highly varied and diverse festival, appealing to very broad demographic. Activities include poetry, comedy, music, as well as all sorts of variety acts to keep the revelers entertained. In my opinion this festival succeeds in bridging the divide between the hardcore environmentalist and the casual festival fan that just enjoys live music and great ale. The difference between these 2 parties could not be more pronounced. Whereas the environmentalist may be single minded in his approach to saving the world single handedly, the "average Joe" on the street often gives barely a passing thought to these concerns. The organizers basically seek to promote more of a middle-ground between the two groups, educating and enlightening the general populous to some of the unseen plights for which they are directly responsible. Promoting this ethical responsibility and encouraging more "green living" can only be seen as a step forward to cutting the waste and pollution problem that appears to be growing at an exponential rate.
The organizers attempted to tackle the waste problem in a number of different ways. For starters all revelers who opted to camp on-site were given a "Campers Waste Kit", which helped participants to separate their waste and waste materials. This tackles a huge problem of festivals, namely the contamination of waste materials. The contamination means that it is extremely difficult if not impossible to recycle or successfully compost the waste materials produced during the course of the event. By giving participants the facility to sort their own paper cups, plastic tumblers and catering supplies it means that there is a far greater chance of the organizers being able to collect properly sorted and reusable materials at the end of the event.
The Paper Cups used at events of this nature are a massive problem. This is partly due to the volume of cups used, and partly due to the way in which they are disposed of. By omitting recycling facilities from the sites festival goers have no way to dispose of their waste, so it either ends up contaminated with food waste or simple thrown on the ground. It is perfectly possibly to successfully recycle the paper cup, in fact if used correctly and with a bit of environmental responsibility it can be surprisingly green for a disposable one-use product. Once recycled it is not normally suitable for further use as a food product, as these normally requires virgin paper as a base product for hygiene reasons, however it can find its way into a range of other catering supplies. The life cycle of the humble paper cup can be almost infinite! The one exception to this rule is if the waste is recycled in such a way so as to remove any contaminants from the material, cleansing the raw product of any impurities. Although this is far more expensive to achieve, it does mean that the waste can then be approved for use with food related catering supplies under certain circumstances.
Another focus of the festival was the incentive to re-use the plastic glasses and disposable pint glasses provided by the organizers. Visitors were made to pay a small fee for their plastic glass at the start of the event, and encouraged to hold onto them and reuse the item for the whole event. The incentive in this case came in the form of a small rebate on the original price of the plastic glass. Visitors were actually seem leaving with the plastic tumblers from the event, having not disposed of the item at all. This greatly reduced the amount of waste produced at the festival and it was done in the simplest of ways. By adding perceived value to the Plastic Pint Glass visitors were discouraged from simply throwing it away, appealing to their financial minded side which naturally resists the temptation to dispose of something they have paid for.
Market traders and Burger van operators were also given similar incentives with their catering equipment and catering supplies. They were rewarded for the amount of material they successfully managed to recycle directly from their stall straight into their sorted waste. This includes plastic containers, food containers and other catering supplies associated with fast food. Again the incentives were only small; however the effect this had on people's attitude to waste was substantial.
The organizers also sought to elect "green representatives" at the event who were there to advise visitors on the best place to dispose of their waste, and to point them towards the recycling facilities on site. By promoting this style of green responsibility the direction of the festival pointed well and truly towards the renewable and reusable energy sources of the future.
The efforts also spread to the online arm of the marketing for the festival, with ticket holders encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas on the recycling, particularly on the reusable nature of the disposable pint glasses and plastic tumblers. This was simple another way of promoting increased concern for the environment in an accessible way that everyone can relate to.
Of course it would be hypocritical if the event staff themselves were drinking from disposable tumblers and pint glasses behind the scenes and simply throwing them away, so this same recycling belief has also been adopted by the very people who sought to implement it. Reusable Pint Glasses and Polycarbonate Pint Glasses were used extensively by the organizers to keep waste to an absolute minimum, even to the extent of having plastic champagne glasses at the board meetings!
It all goes to show that thinking green does not necessarily have to mean chaining yourself to a tree in the middle of winter. Attitudes such as the ones discussed here can be seen as a sure sign that times are changing and dealing with your waste paper and plastic Catering Supplies in an ethical and green manner does not have to mean canceling the festival or leaving visitors out of pocket come the end of the event.
Monday 21 September 2009
Friday 4 September 2009
Paper vs. Styrofoam vs. Plastic Cups
What is the most environmentally friendly way of drinking from a cup or mug? Reusable cups are usually the preferred method as long as the cups get used a lot. As for disposable cups, the main three choices are paper, styrofoam, and plastic. Plastic cups are the cheapest to purchase but they can’t be used for hot drinks.
Pricewise, plastic cups cost $11 for 1000. Styrofoam costs $25 for 1000. Paper cups cost $80-120 for 1000. 100% compostable paper cups costs around $100 for 1000 made from natural corn starch. These prices are taken from Office Max based on a company pricing research done by Joanne.
Paper is less expensive and is biodegradable. Paper production can cause almost twice as much CO2 emissions and energy consumption as creating plastic or styrofoam products. Some paper cups are also not recyclable if they have a wax coating on them. Producing paper cups can also take more material by weight to produce for proper insulation compared to styrofoam and plastic cups. In this study done by Rowan University, the question of whether paper, plastic, or styrofoam cups were environmentally friendly was researched.
Styrofoam cups can insulate very well but they can break into small pieces that can be bad for children and animals. Styrofoam is created from benzene and other chemicals that can be bad for you and contribute to smog and global warming. It is not biodegradable and contributes to landfill pileup because it never deteriorates. Started in the beginning of 2007 in the city of San Francisco, restaurants were recently required to switch out using styrofoam containers and any other forms of polystyrene because they were environmentally unfriendly. Oakland, Berkeley, Portland, Santa Monica, Santa Cruz, and Seattle are some other cities that have banned styrofoam containers.
Plastic cups seem to be the best environmentally friendly option as most plastic cups are recyclable. If it is not recyclable, it can still be grounded up and used as a filler for other products. Plastic is also a much lighter material so there is less transportation and fuel costs needed. Plastic cups are also the cheapest to produce.
As for comparing disposable pint glasses vs. reusable cups, you would ideally think that reusable cups or mugs would be more environmentally friendly, but it is based on how many times the cup gets used. The materials used in creating them are significantly more than created disposable cups and it also requires using electricity, water, and soap to wash the cup after every use. This article here compares the coffee mug debate comparing the materials polystyrene, ceramic, and stainless steel. The conclusion is that a ceramic mug has the lowest material intensity but only if it has been used at least 46 times. In this study done at the University of Victoria in 1994, a reusable cup is compared to disposable cups but takes into consideration the energy used by a dishwasher to wash the cup.
Here is my conclusion of what to use. Obviously at home, you should always use glass, steel, or ceramic cups and mugs. Glass is probably the best choice. For the office, bringing in your own steel or ceramics mug is the best choice. As far as general use disposal cups, using plastic cups is the best choice because it is the most environmentally friendly compared to styrofoam and paper. It is the cheapest to produce as well as to buy but it is only ideal for cold drinks. For hot drinks you would probably need styrofoam cups as well so a mixture of using both plastic and styrofoam is probably my recommendation.
Pricewise, plastic cups cost $11 for 1000. Styrofoam costs $25 for 1000. Paper cups cost $80-120 for 1000. 100% compostable paper cups costs around $100 for 1000 made from natural corn starch. These prices are taken from Office Max based on a company pricing research done by Joanne.
Paper is less expensive and is biodegradable. Paper production can cause almost twice as much CO2 emissions and energy consumption as creating plastic or styrofoam products. Some paper cups are also not recyclable if they have a wax coating on them. Producing paper cups can also take more material by weight to produce for proper insulation compared to styrofoam and plastic cups. In this study done by Rowan University, the question of whether paper, plastic, or styrofoam cups were environmentally friendly was researched.
Styrofoam cups can insulate very well but they can break into small pieces that can be bad for children and animals. Styrofoam is created from benzene and other chemicals that can be bad for you and contribute to smog and global warming. It is not biodegradable and contributes to landfill pileup because it never deteriorates. Started in the beginning of 2007 in the city of San Francisco, restaurants were recently required to switch out using styrofoam containers and any other forms of polystyrene because they were environmentally unfriendly. Oakland, Berkeley, Portland, Santa Monica, Santa Cruz, and Seattle are some other cities that have banned styrofoam containers.
Plastic cups seem to be the best environmentally friendly option as most plastic cups are recyclable. If it is not recyclable, it can still be grounded up and used as a filler for other products. Plastic is also a much lighter material so there is less transportation and fuel costs needed. Plastic cups are also the cheapest to produce.
As for comparing disposable pint glasses vs. reusable cups, you would ideally think that reusable cups or mugs would be more environmentally friendly, but it is based on how many times the cup gets used. The materials used in creating them are significantly more than created disposable cups and it also requires using electricity, water, and soap to wash the cup after every use. This article here compares the coffee mug debate comparing the materials polystyrene, ceramic, and stainless steel. The conclusion is that a ceramic mug has the lowest material intensity but only if it has been used at least 46 times. In this study done at the University of Victoria in 1994, a reusable cup is compared to disposable cups but takes into consideration the energy used by a dishwasher to wash the cup.
Here is my conclusion of what to use. Obviously at home, you should always use glass, steel, or ceramic cups and mugs. Glass is probably the best choice. For the office, bringing in your own steel or ceramics mug is the best choice. As far as general use disposal cups, using plastic cups is the best choice because it is the most environmentally friendly compared to styrofoam and paper. It is the cheapest to produce as well as to buy but it is only ideal for cold drinks. For hot drinks you would probably need styrofoam cups as well so a mixture of using both plastic and styrofoam is probably my recommendation.
Paper and Plastic Recycling Can Save the World
"Please recycle" is a common phrase in almost all labels of plastic and paper products in the market. Manufacturers of plastic and paper strongly encourage consumers to get involved in paper recycling, as well as plastic recycling. But for one to recycle plastics, one has a lot to understand first. You see, there is a certain process to follow in waste recycling especially plastic products.
Plastics are one of the most difficult to recycle and before the recycling process can begin, all plastic materials have to be sorted first according to the Resin Identification Code. This will serve a guide for recyclers.
There are almost 50 different main groups of plastics, each containing many different varieties. The Resin Identification Code system was introduced to make the sorting of recyclable products easier and more universal.
This is the Resin Identification Code used for plastic materials.
Name of Polymer Abbreviation Common Uses When Recycled PET / PETE Polyethylene terephthalate Polyester fibre, soft drink bottles HDPE High density polyethylene Bottles, plastic carrier bags, recycling bins PVC / V Polyvinyl chloride Pipe, fencing, non-food bottles LDPE Low density polyethylene Plastic bags, containers, dispensing bottles PP Polypropylene Auto parts, industrial fibre PS Polystyrene Coffee cups, toys, video cassettes OTHER Other Plastics Various
Sorting plastics is expensive and time-consuming but this is essential in the recycling process. Despite the challenges, more and more plastics are being recycled every year. The amount of plastics that are recycled has increased since 1990. According to American Plastics Council, almost 1,800 U.S. businesses reclaim post-consumer plastics. Still, with this number, the United States only recycled about five percent of the plastics produced domestically.
Plastics are first collected from curbside recycling bins and drop-off locations. From there, they go to a material recovery facility where they are sorted and sent to a reclamation facility. At the reclamation facility, the plastic is inspected and washed. Next it is chopped into small flakes. The flakes are then placed in a flotation tank and then dried in a tumbler. The dried flakes are then placed in a costly extruder where they are melted. The melted plastic is sifted through a screen to remove any contaminants and then it is formed into strands. Finally, the strands are chopped into pellets and sold to manufacturers to make new products. This starts a new life for the recycled plastics. As technology continues to evolve, the cost of the recycling plastic process gradually decreases and hopefully, the amount of recycled plastics will increase. At the same time, consumers have become more aware of the effect of plastic wastes on the planet so they are reducing the use of plastic bottles and bags before it is too late.
We ourselves do our share at home. Why not start separating your plastic items from other waste materials so that at least you have done a little help in saving our planet? It’s not a big task but entails discipline.
Plastics are one of the most difficult to recycle and before the recycling process can begin, all plastic materials have to be sorted first according to the Resin Identification Code. This will serve a guide for recyclers.
There are almost 50 different main groups of plastics, each containing many different varieties. The Resin Identification Code system was introduced to make the sorting of recyclable products easier and more universal.
This is the Resin Identification Code used for plastic materials.
Name of Polymer Abbreviation Common Uses When Recycled PET / PETE Polyethylene terephthalate Polyester fibre, soft drink bottles HDPE High density polyethylene Bottles, plastic carrier bags, recycling bins PVC / V Polyvinyl chloride Pipe, fencing, non-food bottles LDPE Low density polyethylene Plastic bags, containers, dispensing bottles PP Polypropylene Auto parts, industrial fibre PS Polystyrene Coffee cups, toys, video cassettes OTHER Other Plastics Various
Sorting plastics is expensive and time-consuming but this is essential in the recycling process. Despite the challenges, more and more plastics are being recycled every year. The amount of plastics that are recycled has increased since 1990. According to American Plastics Council, almost 1,800 U.S. businesses reclaim post-consumer plastics. Still, with this number, the United States only recycled about five percent of the plastics produced domestically.
Plastics are first collected from curbside recycling bins and drop-off locations. From there, they go to a material recovery facility where they are sorted and sent to a reclamation facility. At the reclamation facility, the plastic is inspected and washed. Next it is chopped into small flakes. The flakes are then placed in a flotation tank and then dried in a tumbler. The dried flakes are then placed in a costly extruder where they are melted. The melted plastic is sifted through a screen to remove any contaminants and then it is formed into strands. Finally, the strands are chopped into pellets and sold to manufacturers to make new products. This starts a new life for the recycled plastics. As technology continues to evolve, the cost of the recycling plastic process gradually decreases and hopefully, the amount of recycled plastics will increase. At the same time, consumers have become more aware of the effect of plastic wastes on the planet so they are reducing the use of plastic bottles and bags before it is too late.
We ourselves do our share at home. Why not start separating your plastic items from other waste materials so that at least you have done a little help in saving our planet? It’s not a big task but entails discipline.
Tuesday 1 September 2009
Pint Glasses of the Future
A safer British pint glass is being developed by an agency called Design Bridge in an effort to crack the big problem of glasses being used in violent assaults. On behalf of the Design and Technology Alliance Against Crime, the Design Council has tasked a team of specialist designers to create an alternative pint glass to reduce the number of injuries from the 87,000 violent incidents involving glassings each year, which costs an estimated 100 Million Pounds in NHS, police and court costs year on year.
The appointed designers, Design Bridge, will produce a number of safer drinking vessels prototypes, which will be launched in December this year. The object is to not only to make a safer pint tumbler, but to ensure they are attractive to industry, manufacturers and consumers. Working with producers and the licensed trade, Design Bridge will seek to develop more than one solution, which could be taken up by licensees.
The project is part of the "Design Out Crime" initiative from the Home Office's Design and Technology Alliance Against Crime and the Design Council. The design council are a group of experts from the world of industry, design and law enforcement whose mandate is to bring about innovation and encourage others to "think crime" at the first stages of product development.
Design Out Crime help to develop solutions to a wide range of crime-related issues, particularly those which affect young people by developing design-led ideas to minimise the harm from alcohol related crime (fights in clubs and pubs), in Schools (reducing bullying, fighting and petty theft), with new products utilising innovations in technology which help make consumer electronics more crime-proof and in business by minimising retail theft.
Jeremy Myerson, Helen Hamlyn Professor of Design, Royal College of the Arts and Alliance member said: "Alcohol related crime takes up valuable police and NHS resources and causes unnecessary misery to thousands of people. The outcomes of the Design Out Crime project have the potential to not only reduce alcohol related violence in the UK but to also help make our communities safer places".
Nick Verebelyi of the Design Bridge said: "Our challenge is to build upon research the Design Council have established to develop creative solutions that increase safety by reducing the opportunity for the vessel to be used as a weapon, whilst taking account of operational challenges, and providing opportunities for enhanced consumer appeal and brand image".
Home office Minister Alan Campbell said: "Innovative design has played an important role in driving down overall crime by a third since 1997 tackling a range of crimes including theft, fraud and burglary with innovative and practical solutions to real problems. This project will see those same skills applied to the dangerous and costly issue of alcohol-related crime and I am confident that it will lead to similar successes"(1).
Prior to the next generation pint glass brief was created, Innovation RCA conducted research to develop insights into the "glassing" problem and to identify solutions in designing safer drinking vessels. The research was used as material in workshops attended by some of the United Kingdoms best product designers, material scientists, branding experts and industry marketers. These specialists met with major breweries, PR agencies, pub chain operators and trade organisations to understand any concerns.
There were also interviews with police, surgeons and victims of alcohol related violence, while bar staff and customers were recorded talking about their observations of drinking from real pint glasses versus plastic glass.
The insights gained into alcohol related violence were complemented by testing of standard pint glasses and plastic pint tumblers by the Materials and Design Exchange (MADE).
The results were used to create the "Next Generation Pint Glass" brief to the design and technology experts, providing them with the essential background knowledge to develop real innovative solutions to reduce alcohol related violence in the United Kingdom.
References:
1. Turney, Ewan. Search on for safer pub pint glass (2009).
The appointed designers, Design Bridge, will produce a number of safer drinking vessels prototypes, which will be launched in December this year. The object is to not only to make a safer pint tumbler, but to ensure they are attractive to industry, manufacturers and consumers. Working with producers and the licensed trade, Design Bridge will seek to develop more than one solution, which could be taken up by licensees.
The project is part of the "Design Out Crime" initiative from the Home Office's Design and Technology Alliance Against Crime and the Design Council. The design council are a group of experts from the world of industry, design and law enforcement whose mandate is to bring about innovation and encourage others to "think crime" at the first stages of product development.
Design Out Crime help to develop solutions to a wide range of crime-related issues, particularly those which affect young people by developing design-led ideas to minimise the harm from alcohol related crime (fights in clubs and pubs), in Schools (reducing bullying, fighting and petty theft), with new products utilising innovations in technology which help make consumer electronics more crime-proof and in business by minimising retail theft.
Jeremy Myerson, Helen Hamlyn Professor of Design, Royal College of the Arts and Alliance member said: "Alcohol related crime takes up valuable police and NHS resources and causes unnecessary misery to thousands of people. The outcomes of the Design Out Crime project have the potential to not only reduce alcohol related violence in the UK but to also help make our communities safer places".
Nick Verebelyi of the Design Bridge said: "Our challenge is to build upon research the Design Council have established to develop creative solutions that increase safety by reducing the opportunity for the vessel to be used as a weapon, whilst taking account of operational challenges, and providing opportunities for enhanced consumer appeal and brand image".
Home office Minister Alan Campbell said: "Innovative design has played an important role in driving down overall crime by a third since 1997 tackling a range of crimes including theft, fraud and burglary with innovative and practical solutions to real problems. This project will see those same skills applied to the dangerous and costly issue of alcohol-related crime and I am confident that it will lead to similar successes"(1).
Prior to the next generation pint glass brief was created, Innovation RCA conducted research to develop insights into the "glassing" problem and to identify solutions in designing safer drinking vessels. The research was used as material in workshops attended by some of the United Kingdoms best product designers, material scientists, branding experts and industry marketers. These specialists met with major breweries, PR agencies, pub chain operators and trade organisations to understand any concerns.
There were also interviews with police, surgeons and victims of alcohol related violence, while bar staff and customers were recorded talking about their observations of drinking from real pint glasses versus plastic glass.
The insights gained into alcohol related violence were complemented by testing of standard pint glasses and plastic pint tumblers by the Materials and Design Exchange (MADE).
The results were used to create the "Next Generation Pint Glass" brief to the design and technology experts, providing them with the essential background knowledge to develop real innovative solutions to reduce alcohol related violence in the United Kingdom.
References:
1. Turney, Ewan. Search on for safer pub pint glass (2009).
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