The hidden market in USED lateral flow tests

Both positive and negative tests changing hands for cash in new Covid scam

Homeowners and businesses are being urged to watch out for people going through their bins for used lateral flow tests.

A Clinical waste and national waste collection company says that Covid scammers are selling on both positive and negative tests for cold, hard cash as buyers attempt to trick employers and venues.

According to Divert.co.uk, refuse collectors are being offered money to allow these people to pick through waste in order to find used test devices.

“It’s a disgusting and immoral trade,” says Divert.co.uk spokesperson Mark Hall. “This kind of selfishness and stupidity will lead to further infections and deaths.”

What’s behind the scam?

The fraud is two-fold, says Divert.co.uk’s Mark Hall.

First, there’s a trade in negative test results for people who want to use them to fool employers, venues that demand a negative test result, and phone apps that the person is clear of Covid.

They might also want to skip a period of self-isolation, with potentially devastating results.

“These are people who have either tested positive, or simply don’t want to go through the bother of taking a test,” says Hall. “Whatever their motive, they want to mix with colleagues, friends and the general public without a thought for their welfare.”

The second trade is in positive tests results, for those who fancy a bit of paid time off work.

“Why anybody would fake having a potentially deadly disease after everything we’ve been through in the last two years is beyond us,” says Hall, “but here we are.”

There have also been warnings that scammers are using the QR codes of tests that social media users are posting on the Facebook walls, and selling screengrabs as a money-making commodity.

What’s happening on the ground?

It might not be foxes or rats going through your bins. At least not the rodent kind of rat – a different, two-legged kind of vermin.

Divert.co.uk says they’ve had reports of refuse operators being approached by shady individuals asking to rifle through waste looking for used tests.

In some cases, they’ve been offered money for doing so.

And sometimes, they don’t even ask. Commercial refuse collectors have found sacks of everyday office waste – usually ignored by four-legged vermin – torn apart to find lateral flow tests.

“It’s absolutely maddening,” says Mark Hall. “Refuse workers have a hard enough job as it is without clearing up after these goons.”

“As far as we know, nobody’s been threatened by these criminals, but it can only be a matter of time.”

But it’s the act of fraud that worries Divert.co.uk’s Mark Hall, as dodging Covid tests is one reason the pandemic is lasting so long.

It only takes one person with the highly-infectious Omicron variant at a sporting event which requires a negative test from all spectators to spread it to dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people.

“Look, we’re all sick of Covid, but it’s clear from the daily stats that Covid isn’t sick of us,” he says.

“The rules are there for a reason, and trying to find a way around them could actually kill people. Is going down the pub with your mates really worth it?”

Coffee pods were originally created by Nespresso engineer Eric Favre, who aimed to create an alternative to the espresso machine that was easier to use with a comparable standard of coffee. Nestle registered the Nespresso trademark and patented the Nespresso machine in 1986.

In 1988, a change of marketing tact saw Nestle selling the machines directly to consumers, rather than to business owners. As sales increased, so did the number of coffee pod-selling competitors, many undercutting Nespresso.

There are now over 400 coffee pod brands on the market, with pods costing from £0.50 to £1.

What are coffee pods made from?
Coffee pods are a pre-portioned serving of coffee grounds wrapped in filter paper that is used in a specialist coffee pod machine. There are a few different systems, but many are interchangeable. They are so popular they make up one-third of the Western European coffee market.

They are made using many steps:

1. The pod is created. Most are plastic, some are aluminium.
2. Coffee beans are ground to a uniform size
3. Pre-formed cups, in different colours to denote different flavours, are put into the machine
4. The cups are filled with preground coffee
5. Aluminium caps are cut out by a laser
6. Some capsules insert an internal plastic filter to allow greater water pressure
7. The cap is sealed and an inspection is performed to monitor for leaks, carbon monoxide levels and more
The pods are then packaged into boxes by flavour and shipped off to their destinations. Flavours include different intensities of coffee bean, and additional flavours including vanilla, chocolate and various nuts.

Coffee pod waste disposal
Coffee pods have a reputation for being bad for the environment, but how are they disposed of?
29,000 coffee pods go to landfills every month, mostly made up of plastic that will take hundreds of years to decompose. Pods aren’t routinely accepted in household recycling, but coffee pod manufacturers are trying to increase pod recycling

Podback is a 2020 scheme that allows coffee pod recycling by two different methods. Collect + offers drop off points around the UK in a variety of stores, open 7 days a week. There is also the option to order recycling bags directly from the brand which are collected and sent back to them – supermarkets are also due to start this scheme. Finally, people from a few specific areas (Cheltenham and South Derbyshire) can sign up for curbside recycling collection.

Some companies like Lavazza have started producing biodegradable pods that are compostable, meaning they can also be put in food/garden waste, however, the duration of time required for composting varies greatly.

Aluminium pods are more common and described as a more environmentally friendly option, but these are still not widely recyclable as the aluminium is mixed with natural (coffee) waste. High temperatures are needed, but also chemicals to separate the aluminium from the paint and plastic lining.

Coffee pod alternatives
So coffee pods seem to be a handy way to produce a high-quality cup of coffee, but what are the alternatives?
If you really can’t do without your coffee pods, obviously biodegradable coffee pods are better than plastic ones. But reusable pods also exist; some you send back to the manufacturer to be reused, some stainless steel ones exist which you can reuse yourself at home.

Coffee pods are a relatively new concept, so one of the best pod alternatives is going back to basics. Depending on how much of a coffee vs espresso fan you are, you can go for a simple French press, a filter coffee machine, a Moka pot, or even a specific espresso machine. All of these use simple coffee grounds that can go straight into the compost with minimal waste produced.

It’s common enough to overlook the subtle differences between our plastic but there are actually many different types that come into our lives every single day. For example, you might notice that a lot of frozen meals are packaged in plastic coloured black as opposed to the typical clear or white plastic.
Black plastic disposal and recycling

This small difference has a big impact on its disposal and how it is made. In this article, we’ll cover what makes black plastic unique.

Who invented black plastic?
Plastic itself was first invented by Leo Baekeland in 1907, in New York. This was the first fully synthetic plastic and it was where the term first originated from.

This first plastic was Bakelite. It was a thermosetting phenol-formaldehyde resin that was formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. Scientifically known as Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolan, the first plastic was named after its inventor and catalysed the manufacturing boom of plastic.

What is black plastic made of and how is it made?
Black plastic is made using either colouring from carbon black pigments or made from recycled scrap plastic of different colours. These pellets of plastic and/or colouring are melted down to liquid form and set into moulds for trays, boxes, and other packaging.

It is often used for food because it masks colourations and imperfections when on supermarket shelves.

Problems with black plastic waste
Recycling plants use Near Infra-Red technology to identify and separate plastics. This detects the different types and colours of plastic and allows it to be sorted for recycling. However, because of the black colouring in black plastic, the laser technology cannot penetrate it and simply rejects it.

This means that black plastic is unable to be recycled and is sent to landfills across the country to cause environmental damage there.

Black plastic disposal
The UK Plastics Pact has announced plans for the majority of black plastic to be manufactured with detectable black pigments, widely sorted for recycling by 2020.

However, there is still the problem of disposing of current black plastic. We recommend that you contact your local council or visit your local household waste and recycling collection centre who will be able to advise you as to the local recycling processing technology – whether they have new NIR tech which can detect black plastic or not.

Alternatives to black plastic
Wherever possible, you should avoid plastic. It is damaging to the planet and can cause centuries of harm to ecosystems.

If inescapable, you should always choose clear plastic instead of black. This means that your plastic can be recycled and saved from landfills.

Because black plastic is most commonly used in fast food and other food containers, you could look at preparing more fresh meals. Prepare a large meal and freeze it in reusable Tupperware containers. Not only is this cheaper and healthier, but it will be much better for the environment.

Facts about black plastic
• Before Leo Baekeland produced the first entirely synthetic plastic, Alexander Parkes unveiled Parkesine in 1862. This was the first official manmade plastic but was derived from cellulose, making it bio-based.
• Cellophane was invented in the early 1900s by a Swiss textile engineer as a solution to clothing stains.

Where can you take black plastic to recycle/dispose of it for free?
You can take black plastic to your local household recycling collection centre to check that where the nearest plastic sorting plant is that accepts black plastic and can successfully recycle it.

Freedom of Information Request to find out the depth of Number Ten drinking culture

As the nation waits with bated breath for the Sue Grey report that will either damn or exonerate Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a request has gone in to find out exactly how much booze was being drunk in Downing Street.

A national waste and recycling company is going where no investigative journalist has gone before, and has submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to find out the truth.

Waste collection company Divert.co.uk says this virtual rummage through the bins at Number Ten will go some way to determining the depth of the drinking and party culture there while the rest of the country was observing strict Covid lockdown rules.

“We’re asking about the amount of waste by type for glass, food, and general waste,” says Divert.co.uk spokesperson Mark Hall.

“We’re also requesting the weights of each collection, not to mention the number of collections for the periods during lockdown, as well as periods before lockdown.

“It could all be very revealing.”

Following the waste paper trail

Every business, commercial enterprise and workplace in the country – including government offices – is required by law to have a commercial waste contract in place.

A waste transfer note is required for each load of waste that leaves the premises.

This waste transfer note must be kept ready for inspection for a period of two years.

“That means, somewhere in the bowels of Number Ten Downing Street, is a file containing the exact contents of the bins at the times of the lockdown-busting parties,” says Divert.co.uk’s Mark Hall.

“Each note should have a description of the waste, and how much of each type has been collected.

“If our FOI is granted, we’d be seeing large amounts of glass being collected on the days following these bashes. And probably loads of Greggs wrappers too.”

Divert.co.uk is quick to point out that they’re not interested in the amount of paper and confidential waste collected from Number Ten.

In the words of Line of Duty’s Ted Hastings: “We’re only interested in one thing here and one thing only, and that’s bent corkscrews”.

Does it really matter?

Divert.co.uk says that while their FOI may sound trivial, it could help further expose a serious issue.

“Over 150,000 people have died of Covid-19 during this pandemic, and people were mourning lost loved ones at the time of these events,” says Mark Hall.

“We, as concerned citizens, want to use our specialist knowledge of the waste industry to find out what really happened on the days in question, and it should all be there in black-and-white on those waste transfer documents.”

As Divert.co.uk knows – the paperwork never lies.

The alternative is blowing up satellite photos of Central London from the days in question to check out how many people were in the Number Ten garden, and to check out the empties next to the bins. But we don’t know how to do that.

“We’ll leave that one to the Daily Mirror,” says Mark.

Why a rampaging bin might not be covered by home or business insurance

Winter storms inevitably bring storm damage, and one of the major culprits these days are wheelie bins being blown into cars and property. This weekend’s storms have caused many £1000s of pounds worth of damage to cars, garden fences and untold hours will be wasted collecting litter from streets and car parks.

And according to one waste and recycling company, if you’ve not made a reasonable effort to prevent your bins from getting loose, you might not be covered by insurance.

Waste collection company Divert.co.uk says rampaging wheelie bins can cause thousands of pounds of damage for which the householder or business owner from where it came could be held responsible.

We’ve all seen videos of bins being blown down the street during storms, says Divert.co.uk spokesman Mark Hall, “but what many people forget is that they’re heavy and can pack a real punch if they hit anything.

What’s the damage, then?

The average domestic wheelie bin, when empty, weighs around 10kg (22lbs in the old money). A wheeled commercial bin weighs between 15-50kg (33-110 pounds).

Allowed to run free in gale-force winds gusting up to 50mph, the potential for damage is enormous.

Blown out into the street, even a domestic bin can cause thousands of pounds of damage to a car. Even a small dent could cost you between £50-£150, and that might not be covered by your insurance excess, so it’ll come straight out of your pocket.

And that’s if your insurance is valid because here’s the small print: Insurance companies – always looking to protect their bottom line – might not payout if you have not made a reasonable attempt to secure your bins.

We repeat, in bold type: Your insurance may not be valid.

“The nightmare scenario is your bin pummelling your neighbour’s brand new Tesla,” says Divert.co.uk’s Mark Hall. “You might need to be as rich as Elon Musk to get out of that if your insurance turns you down.”

So, should I tie down my bins?

Securing your wheelie bins on your domestic or commercial property protects you from any liability should they cause damage to other people’s property.

In most cases, you don’t need to do anything elaborate. For a domestic bin, a bungee cord securing the bin to a fence, downpipe or other fixture would be sufficient.

You can also buy a bracket handle that fixes your bin to the wall if you want a more elegant and secure solution.

For multiple or heavier bins, it’s worth investing in a corral or enclosure for your wheeled containers. They also look tidier than having a row of bins outside your property.

All of these solutions also secures them against bin theft, which is a bizarre, yet growing phenomenon.

Not only do thieves love wheelie bins as a means to carry swag away from a break-in, but they’re also stolen and burned by feckless youths who live under the belief that inhaling the fumes gets you high.

Public service announcement: Huffing bin fumes does not get you high.

And securing your bins makes sense even before you consider the insurance aspect.

That’s because there’s nothing worse than stepping out in a cold, wet, and blustery morning to find your bin blown over and having to chase rubbish down the street.

Nobody wants to do that, says Divert.co.uk’s Mark Hall.

“Save yourself a morning of misery – secure your wheelie bin.”

There have been many unintended consequences of Covid-19 worldwide – but one, in particular, could be undoing years of tireless campaigning against single-use plastic, warns plastic waste collection company Divert.co.uk.

As a result of shoppers’ fears about Covid-19 transmission, countless supermarkets are seeing the rise of single-use plastic bag, particularly in the fresh produce sections.

Most have made steps to improve their practices, with supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s selling reusable mesh bags for produce and others reducing the use of packaging in the first place, ensuring customers opt for eco-friendly options for their loose produce. Tesco committed to removing one billion pieces of plastic from its stores by the end of 2020, while Asda introduced its first sustainable packaging-free section in their Leeds store in January last year.

Almost all of the UK’s major food retailers are signed up to the UK Plastics Pact, launched in 2018, which aims to eliminate single-use plastics and increase the use of recyclable or compostable packaging. Consumer behaviour has, largely, followed suit.

The pandemic, however, has halted many of these waste reduction schemes in their tracks, as customers are increasingly turning back to the ubiquitous plastic bag for their produce.

“I haven’t bought loose fruit and veg since last March,” said one shopper surveyed by waste disposal experts Divert.co.uk. “I’d rather have things in plastic bags, it feels more hygienic really.”

Others agreed. Matt, 36, said: “I can’t really explain it, it just feels like it’s safer. I don’t want to be picking up bits of fruit and veg with my hands and chucking them in a trolley, the plastic bags are extra protection.”

Others agreed the change was noticeable: of 250 shoppers surveyed, 83% said they had bought the majority of their fruit or vegetables had in some form of plastic bag or packaging.  Just 17% said they were continuing to make use of reusable or recyclable bags and choosing fresh produce where it was available – whereas 28% reported having done so before the pandemic.

Over a third – 40% – of plastic food packaging is used just once, and UK supermarkets produce 1.2 billion plastic fruit and veg bags a year, making this sharp increase in use a concerning statistic.

Mark Hall, Divert.co.uk’s spokesperson, said it was a tricky issue.

“It’s understandable that people – and businesses – want to avoid the risk of Covid-19, and on the face of it, bundling food back into plastic packaging seems like an obvious choice. But it seems to be a knee-jerk reaction that hasn’t taken into account the fact that science seems to show that transmission risk via surfaces and objects is very low – giving your apples a good wash before use should be precaution enough!”

The solution, Divert.co.uk says, would have been a more considered approach: compostable paper gloves to allow customers to select loose produce, regularly-cleaned tongs, a public awareness campaign around washing fruit and veg or strict ‘you touch it, you buy it’ rules could have been implemented early on to slow the impact of a sudden return to single-use plastic.

As ‘that ship has long since sailed’, as Hall comments, “A short, sharp shock is needed.”

“A big public campaign to remind the public about single-use plastics and the enormously detrimental effect they have on the environment is a good start.” Hall continues.

“Financial incentives for bringing reusable bags for consumers, or financial disincentives to retailers using unnecessary plastic instead of recyclables past the end of this lockdown, would also help focus the public mind back onto this crucial issue. It’s not that the virus isn’t important – of course, it is, and safety must come first. But with slightly more joined-up thinking we could have avoided a colossal amount of landfill being generated in the last 12 months, and it’s time we stopped treating the environment and its protection as an optional concern.

“Both the public and businesses have a responsibility to continue making waste reduction a priority and finding innovative, environmentally friendly solutions when needed – like they have been this year.”

How to tackle the explosion of dog poo on our streets.

Are you tired of playing dodge-the-dog-poo on public footpaths? A rubbish collection company has started a bold new campaign to force dog owners to put nappies on their furry friends – or face steep fines.

Since lockdowns began in March 2020, the amount of dog poo has increased 200% on Britain’s streets, there is more poo than people on the streets – creating a filthy wave of unsanitary and visibly dirty public areas.

Some have blamed a lack of police presence for the increase, stating that while police were busy dealing with lockdown breakers and summer of protests, the average local community has fewer bobbies around to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Others have said lockdown itself is the problem: with fewer people on the streets, lazy dog owners have fallen into bad habits and – with nobody around to judge them for leaving a poo (or two) on the pavement they’re going about their day without cleaning the mess their four-legged friend has made.

When interviewed, one owner – who wished to remain anonymous – blamed the rules on staying at home: “I know it’s not right, but I’ve been leaving the house just to walk the dog around streets near me rather than the park where there are loads of poo bins, and then I go straight home. I didn’t want to get fined for wandering around looking for a bin instead of exercising and I didn’t want to carry a bag of poo with me longer than I needed to!”.

Divert.co.uk waste collection spokesperson, Mark Hall, said:

“It might sound like a joke but this is deadly serious – dog poo is a blight on our streets and owners must be held accountable one way or another. Dogs in the UK produce 900 tonnes of poo every day and we don’t want that to start finding its way to our streets, parks, and footpaths. We all love our furry friends and they bring a lot of joy into owners’ lives, but it shouldn’t mean someone else has to deal with the telltale piles of poo that seem to follow behind.”

It’s not only the disgusting – and annoying – aspect of this poo-explosion that have driven Divert.co.uk to call for nappies on dogs. Dog faeces contains a dangerous bacteria called toxocariasis which can cause blindness, which is why many children’s play areas ban dogs: children are notorious for getting into anything messy or dirty at a moment’s notice and in the case of dog poo, it could have very serious consequences.

Divert.co.uk’s proposal is that, much like some dog owners do when their female dog is in season, owners are required to put a nappy on their dog when walking in public spaces. A drastic move, but not the first legal requirement put in place to stop dog owners fouling up our streets.

A law passed in 1982, The Control of Dogs Ordinance, states it’s an offence to fail to clean up a dog’s faeces while in public – and no excuses, such as not having poo bags or not knowing the law, will wash when trying to challenge a prosecution or fine. Of course, this law relies on a police officer spotting the dog – or its owner – in the act, whereas the proposal to make dogs wear nappies in public spaces would be constantly visible and offenders could be spotted much more easily.

Hall concluded:

“It’d be unacceptable to let a human defecate on the street, there’d be uproar if it suddenly became common to pick your way through human faeces – why do some people think it’s fine because it’s a dog? We don’t want to get to a point where dogs are seen as a public nuisance – they’re man’s best friend, but not when they’re messing up pavements, getting stuck in pram wheels and all over your toddler’s shoes.

“Fines for not complying would certainly send a message, and we hope this campaign will make dog owners sit up and take notice, as well as the lawmakers who crackdown on this kind of behaviour – it quite literally stinks.”

Flying rats, pests, vermin… seagulls don’t get the best press – but their savage attacks on bewildered binmen have sealed their reputation.

Refuse collectors across the UK are reporting being dive-bombed by starving gulls, desperate to get their talons on morsels of food. It sounds shocking, but this isn’t new behaviour for seagulls – many terrified residents of coastal towns report being terrorised by the local wildlife, often due to their reliance on human food. One man, appearing on ITV’s This Morning, even reported being ‘held hostage’ by birds living on the roof of his bungalow, adding: “I was struck on the back of the head by a fully-grown gull… It chased me up the road and had three more goes at me.”

Another man in Scotland was attacked so viciously by a gull that it drew blood – all because he was eating a sandwich, which he sadly noted [he] “ended up throwing it in the bin after it had tried to get it out of my mouth. What a lose-lose situation”.

The problem is so severe that some towns have published guides on what to do if you’re attacked by one of these angry birds.

So why are these airborne attackers now turning on bin collectors?

Part of the problem is the dramatically reduced footfall in previously busy areas as city centre footfall fell by 75% in some areas: and with far fewer shoppers and workers comes a reduction in litter and dropped food. Many gulls have adapted to live reliant on human food waste to survive, leading East Riding of Yorkshire Council to warn residents that “seagulls may be more hungry than normal and may behave aggressively”.

Liverpool Divert.co.uk binman Charlie agrees. “I’ve had them swoop at me while I pull bins up to the truck, try and pull half eaten food out of open bins while we’re emptying them, diving at the lorry… they’re absolutely feral. They’re always quite scary because they’re huge, but now it seems like they’re out for blood if you take any scrap of food away.”

“I’d cull them if it were up to me,” added his colleague, Adam. “They’re an absolute menace – there are certain routes I won’t do now unless I’m giving a hard hat and a chance of protecting myself against them.”

A cull seems drastic, but is it what’s required?

Mark Hall, spokesperson for rubbish disposal experts Divert.co.uk, said there are other options.

“While wildlife culls are used when a particular species becomes a nuisance, this behaviour is hopefully temporary, and gulls are protected by law – so we discourage anyone from taking matters into their own hands. What will help more than anything, however, is households properly disposing of waste to discourage the birds in the first place.”

Residents are advised to:

Ensure bins are closed, with a proper lid, to stop birds getting into any waste food and becoming dependent
Never litter – it provides a food source.

Don’t leave bin bags on the street overnight: they’re easily ripped by gulls and cause a huge headache for rubbish collectors if that happens.

Do not encourage the gulls by feeding them – this creates a vicious circle where birds will return for food

Diverts.co.uk Hall continued:

“We do have to coexist with gulls and other wildlife – and it’s up to us to take as many steps as possible to ensure our rubbish doesn’t create a tempting buffet for any hungry birds driven out of quiet city centres. They soon learn where is a good source of food, so if you’re prone to leaving binbags out, they’ll flock to your bins for a scavenge and you’ll find it difficult – or even dangerous – to discourage them.”

Are you chucking away a pound every day? Send it to us instead

Roast dinners, strawberries and cream, fish and chips – the UK is clearly a nation of food lovers.

But new figures show that we are also a nation of food wasters, with the average UK family throwing away around £350 of food each year.

Divert.co.uk, the food waste collection company that hates waste, thinks that it’s time for the UK to stop throwing away so much food and find new ways to use up all of our produce.

“There are 28 million households in the UK, throwing the equivalent of a pound’s worth of food away every day,” says Mark Hall, spokesman for Divert.co.uk. “We did the maths – that’s over TEN BILLION POUNDS annually.”

“Think of how many needy people we could feed with that.”

Crunching the numbers on wasted food.

The UK throws away over 9 ½ billion tonnes of food waste a year, enough to fill up the Royal Albert Hall 190 times over.

That’s a total of each household throwing away nearly 2kg of food each day.

And of this waste, 41% of it is thrown away because it wasn’t used in time, 28% because of personal preferences, and 25% of waste is unwanted leftovers.

With this much surplus food being produced and sold across the UK, it’s hard to believe that the numbers of people living in poverty and going hungry are increasing – especially when there’s enough food to go around.

But unfortunately, 8.4 million people in the UK are currently living in food poverty, which is where individuals or families are unable to access or afford food – a circumstance which can be triggered by a personal or financial crisis.

The Trussell Trust, a charity that aim to stop UK hunger, handed out 2.5 million emergency food parcels between April 2020 and March 2021, a 33% increase on the previous year – and 980,000 of these were for children.

Hall: “If we can make the most of what we have across the UK as a collective and find a way to redistribute the good food that is wasted to those that are hungry, we can prevent this unjust behaviour of allowing people to starve when so much is thrown away.

“We’re not a poor country, just a little collective thought will make everything so much better.”

Luckily, there are organisations and charities who are already getting stuck in to make sure good food finds its way to those who need it instead of ending up in the bin.

FareShare – who redistribute surplus food to those in need – provide enough food to create nearly 1 million meals for vulnerable people each week.

The real junk food project – is an organisation that uses food that would otherwise have been discarded from supermarkets, restaurants, and other independent food suppliers to produce meals that are sold on a pay what you want basis

Hall: “We need to expand on this incredible work to make sure it reaches more people, and really tackle the food waste crisis that is drowning the UK under mountains of rotting produce.”

Make your food go further

If like many others up and down the country you are guilty of throwing away perfectly good food, there are plenty of things you can do to try and minimise how much goes in the bin.

Why not try meal planning so you are only buying exactly what you need for the week and try cooking things in bulk and freezing excess portions for easy dinners?

Or you could get creative with new dishes to use up food approaching its use-by date, such as chucking everything into a stir fry, or a everything-but-the-kitchen-sink casserole.

Another simple trick is to make sure you are storing your food correctly to make sure it lasts as long as possible.

Hall: “I didn’t realise until recently that foods like bananas and apples shouldn’t be stored near each other or other fruits and vegetables, because they are highly gaseous and speed up how quickly foods begin to rot.

“You can also use lemon juice to keep cut avocados fresh and put paper towels under leafy greens to make them last longer.”

Finally, look at local charities and organisations to see if there are any ways you can donate food that will not be eaten before it perishes, or try to offer it to friends or neighbours.

So all is not lost, and you can save money and reduce your waste just by planning ahead and getting savvy with the food you already have.

Hall: “But the best tip I can give you is to never go food shopping when you’re hungry – last time I ended up leaving the supermarket with everything for a barbeque and then it rained all week.

“Greed gets the better of us – buy less, make it go further.”

Communities sitting on ‘beige mine’ as plans to roll out local cardboard bins could fund community projects

• Waste cardboard becomes a potential moneymaker for local authorities
• Collection bins made available in easy-to-access positions could push record-breaking community recycling drive
• Funds raised would be put back into the community for local causes and environmental projects

 

Is your local area sitting on a gold mine? Rubbish collection company Divert.co.uk says we all are – and that recycling our overlooked ‘beige gold’ could fund transformative community projects.

As a result of the seasonal demand for cardboard – for delivery boxes, birthday cards, and more – combining with an explosive growth in online shopping sparked by global lockdowns, cardboard packaging manufacturers are finding themselves struggling to get hold of the materials needed to make more boxes, tubes and packing.

This material comes largely from the recycling process: we recycle almost 80% of the cardboard we use in the UK, so much of our packaging finds its way back into the manufacturing process for a new lease of life. But this ‘beige gold’ is now trapped in the homes and recycling bins of the Great British public, rather than the faster-moving commercial recycling processes used by large retailers, restaurant chains and the like.

The result? The price for waste cardboard has now reached £80-100 a tonne – and Divert.co.uk has devised a scheme to get that money into local communities while getting the cardboard log-jam plaguing manufacturers moving.

A spokesperson for Divert.co.uk, Mark Hall, said:

“It’s clear that the combined effects of an enormous boom in online shopping and Christmas, plus personnel issues as a result of Covid-19, have had a knock-on effect on the cardboard waste life cycle in the UK, but all hope is not lost.

“We propose placing cardboard waste bins in easily-accessible locations across communities and encouraging residents to bring their ‘beige gold’ along: this can then be sold at the currently high rates per tonne, raising much-needed funding for local communities and fostering a sense of community well-being that is so crucial during these difficult times.

“It’ll open up the conversation about recycling, provide funding for community projects, and can be scaled up as necessary – we could have a Community Cardboard bin at the end of every street!”

Between 2011 and 2016, English local authorities cut spending by 27% (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, The cost of the cuts report) – leaving scant resources for frontline services, let alone community projects seen as ‘non-essential’.

To explore how communities would use funds raised, Divert.co.uk ran a poll to reach real communities and hear their ideas. The results were telling – and heartwarming.

Over a quarter (28%) of the respondents said they would allocate the money to creating or renovating playgrounds for local children, while a green-fingered 26% opted for a community garden or shared allotment project. In a more sobering look at the needs of many local communities, a fifth (20%) said their first choice would be to fund local food banks. Happily, local sports teams, community arts projects and other such initiatives also featured highly, suggesting that these projects are sorely underfunded at present.

What community initiative would you fund with the money raised from a Cardboard for Communities drive?

New playground for local children – 28%

Community garden/allotment – 26%

Fund local food banks -20 %

Support youth sports teams – 13%

Community arts projects – 9%

Other – 4%

Divert.co.uk’s spokesperson continued:

“We’re really excited about how much of an impact this initiative could have: everyone involved would benefit, from the communities collecting their waste and receiving much-needed funds, to waste processing centres which desperately need more cardboard to speed up their recycling process.

“Nowadays, the general public is well aware of how important recycling is to the environment: this is a natural progression of that, encouraging them to see the direct benefit of recycling right in their local area.

“We’ve seen and heard some incredible ideas for the funds raised by this initiative, from planting trees along high-pollution local roads to improve the air quality to funding food banks in more deprived areas. The beauty of this scheme is that each area can decide what’s important to them and then reap the benefits.”