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Public asked to join battle on packaging
John Roberts A YORKSHIRE council is to write to the Government urging it to produce a new Bill restricting the amount of non-recyclable packaging companies are allowed to use.
Bradford Council is also urging the district's residents to lobby MPs and it is planning talks with supermarkets and retailers to reduce "unnecessary packaging" being sold with products.
Talks with retailers and supermarkets are due to take place in February or March.
The authority is staging roadshows this month in Bradford and Keighley to raise people's awareness about the excess packaging used on the goods they buy.
Visitors to the shows in the Kirkgate Centre in Bradford and in the Airedale Centre in Keighley will be given post- cards to send to their MPs and trading standards departments calling on them to take action to reduce un-needed packaging.
A council spokesman said: "Many people this Christmas will have experienced the frustration of the numerous layers of card and other packaging materials separating them from their toys and gifts. These materials are often needless and add to excess waste.
"While the council encourages more recycling, not all packaging is made from recyclable material, which means it adds to the amount of waste going to landfill sites – something Bradford and other authorities across the country are working to reduce."
Bradford Council currently recycles 20 per cent of its household waste, with the remaining 80 per cent – about 180,000 tonnes – being dumped in the ground as landfill.
The authority is looking for a private partner to develop a waste treatment plant to reduce the amount of landfill it buries and so avoid being hit by Government fines. The authority is expected to spend 400m over a 25-year period on a new facility.
The roadshows will be held on Thursday, January 18, and Friday, January 19, at the Kirkgate Centre and on Friday, January 26, at the Airedale Centre.
The postcards available from the roadshow can also be signed electronically on the council's website at www.bradford.gov.uk/packaging.
Coun Anne Hawkesworth, environment spokeswoman, said: "We are doing everything we can to encourage people to recycle more, but excessive packaging also adds to the amount of waste produced in the district.
"If people are more aware of what they are buying and retailers think twice about the amount of packaging on the goods they sell, hopefully this can further reduce our waste levels. A change in legislation, such as a taxation on carrier bags, would also help."
Research shows that 40 per cent of household waste comes from supermarket shelves in the form of
packaging.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
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