International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

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“M&S [Marks & Spencer] sell the same products and packaging across all
stores since they do not think it worth their while changing packaging for a few
continental stores. However, they have experienced clear differences
(‘problems’) in consumer attitudes in Germany and Holland (no significant
differences, relative to the UK, were found in France in this respect). For
example, in these countries, consumers do not like pre-packaged sandwiches
and the use of PVC. M&S responded with a PR campaign to inform consumers
of their approach and why they believed it to be good. They felt that it did not
lose them significant market share. In German stores, however, plastic bag
consumption is at a far lower level than in the UK, and they also had to
introduce a reusable canvas bag to meet customer demand/pressure.
M&S have found that training German staff has been interesting in that there
were far more environmental questions than there would be from UK staff -
probably reflecting both the interest of the staff and the fact that they know
that they will be asked similar questions by the public. […]
For example, in Zurich and Berne, householders have to pay 1.50 Swiss
Francs per refuse bag. According to Nestle in Vevey, there is therefore a
definite economic incentive to them buying as much lightweight flexible
packaging as possible.”
A desire for minimisation of (particularly) packaging material can lead to
diversification into different or new materials, as well as the development of new
techniques for product packaging (greater resort to refillable packaging).
Perhaps the strongest effect in terms of technical innovation occurs due to the often
observed step changes in materials separated and returned for reprocessing. This
can spur the development of new or additional recycling industries.
Furthermore, the technical infrastructure necessary to administer (and bill for)
charging schemes (identification and weighing equipment on vehicles, as well as
centralised accounting systems) means that much better data on waste production is
generated when charging systems are put in place. There has been considerable
innovation over the years with the types of systems used, the accuracy of the data
generated and the reliability of on-vehicle weighing systems. Innovation has occurred
in the nature of the chips used on bins (which can be in read only, or read-and-write
form, the latter helping to show / prove to residents that their bins have been
emptied).
This gives further scope to assess trends in waste production and devise new
approaches to further progress the objectives of sustainable waste management. In
particular, the information obtained from households through ‘identification schemes’
can improve the efficiency of vehicle routing and lead to more efficient collection
logistics. Some advanced schemes now make use of infrared detection enabling
crews on collection rounds to choose to empty only those containers which are
relatively full. This can lead to ‘bespoke collection rounds’, in which crews’ rounds are
determined by the number of bins exceeding the ‘emptying threshold’.
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes