Page 30 - Oundle Life A5 March 2023

GREEN ISSUES
Bring it back
Oundle chosen for new ‘Bring it Back’ project tackling single-use food and drinks packaging. Local environmental charity, PECT, are the
winners of the £1.4 million Bring it Back fund launched by Hubbub and Starbucks.
The movement towards going green is rapidly growing and concerns over our environment are at an all-time high. Public attitudes are changing too, with 67% of people saying they want to reduce the amount of single-use packaging they use when buying food and drink products.
To help tackle single-use culture PECT, alongside six other winners across the UK, have won funding from the £1.4 million Bring it Back fund launched by Hubbub and Starbucks.
Chosen for its existing strong community ties and ongoing environmental engagement, Oundle is one of the five target
communities to trial the scheme.
Working in collaboration with plastics
and resources recycling charity
RECOUP, the Bring it Back project
will work closely with the Oundle
community and popular cafés including
Beans and The Coffee Tavern to trial a reusable packaging pilot in town. The project, which is due to launch at the end of March, will build
on previous reusable cup trials in Oundle such as the Green Cup, developed by local waste reduction project Oundle Waste Less run by the town’s green group Transition Oundle.
The community co-creation of a reusable packaging pilot aims to help to identify and remove the barriers to such schemes and will contribute to ongoing research. The learnings of the project will inform a digital toolkit that other organisations and communities around the UK can use. Other communities selected include catering facilities at Nene Park Trust and Peterborough secondary schools.
“We are all used to the convenience of single- use packaging such as crisp packets and coffee cups, yet we don’t see the impact they have on our planet and local communities,” says PECT
Senior Project Coordinator, Maria Basilisco, “The Bring it Back project aims to help tackle this. We’re hoping that by working closely with
each community, and understanding their needs, we can figure out if there is a
way to make reusables as easy and as widespread as single-use.”
What is reusable packaging?
Reusable packaging systems offer an alternative to single-use packaging (e.g. coffee cups). They work on the basis that the
packaging is returned to a point where it can
be collected, whether that be the café, your doorstep (i.e. milkman) or any other convenient location. Once collected, the packaging can be cleaned and reused by others. By reusing the same materials again and again, we can save money, energy, and resources.
How can I get involved?
Keep an eye out in your local community for businesses taking part in the reusable packaging trials and support them by using and bringing back the packaging.
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To learn more about the project, or to set up your own reusable packaging trial, please stay updated through our website: www.bringitback.org.uk