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It is “Totally Edible After” … (TEA: xx/xx/xxxx)

It is “Absolutely Delicious for at Least Another Six Months” … (ADFALASM: xx/xx/xxxx)

When the clock strikes midnight… do we really need to chuck it in the bin?   At home we wouldn’t, so what can retail businesses do about food waste? Should the Government be looking at this in the same way they do with single-use plastics?

From mid-February, client sites began restricting access to “third-party service providers” and then suddenly, like a tidal-wave, complete access was denied locking literally thousands of snacks and drinks away until June.

It is widely discussed the effect that this pandemic has had, and will continue to have, on the environment.   Certainly, we all noticed an improvement in pollution during the lockdown – anyone taking a daily walk couldn’t have helped but notice the clearer views, the quieter evenings and the louder birdsong at dusk and dawn…

Plastic pollution, which we all worried about and took great steps to reduce through 2017 – 2019 has sky-rocketed in 2020 with PPE and Covid – Safe practice.

But one thing that in my opinion needs some serious consideration is food waste and the effect it has on the environment, society and the economy.

I wonder how snack and drinks brands choose to determine their shelf-lives and what the answer is for society in terms of food waste, the cost to the economy and the cost to the environment.

Peter Maddox, Director of WRAP, estimates that, “over a typical year, around half a billion pounds worth of food is likely to be thrown away from homes linked to a Best Before date, that’s 180,000 tonnes.”

How much of that is thrown away along with its plastic packaging? How much of that ends up as landfill?

We haven’t quite ascertained a final figure, but at current estimate, Covid has left our retail business with a waste bill in excess of £3000.

I don’t seek to bemoan the cost of this to our business, or even to discuss the potential lost sales. I simply question whether these products would really have become less than their best in crunchiness or taste had they been consumed days, weeks or even months later.

Certainly, at Touch AR, our kids and their friends have enjoyed a lot of free snacks and drinks!

However, most importantly, we have been delighted to have been able to help those who need it the most and we were able to find two amazing food banks who would take the products – thousands of them – but almost all of the organisations we contacted declined to accept it – and I simply don’t understand why…

I’m not certain what the answer is, and I know that the Government have long debated or considered how they can amend the practice of Best Before dates on non-perishable foods and drinks.

What I do know is that on 15/08/2020, my snack with a BB date of 16/04/2020 was pretty delicious and crunchy and in my humble opinion, all should be thinking about how we can do our bit to reduce food waste like this.

Are you prepared to take a bite at resolving the problem?

http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/best-dates-shouldn%E2%80%99t-be-barrier-redistribution

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What would you say? The arrival of recycling wheelie bins? The carrier bag tax? Blue Planet?

Is it less important to us than it was as a result of the Covid Pandemic?

As far back as 2011, Wales introduced their 5p single-use “carrier bag tax”.   In 2013 and 2014, Northern Ireland and Scotland followed respectively.

In fact, it wasn’t until 5 October 2015 that the same 5p charge came into effect on single use carrier bags!

For many this was just an excuse to implement another “stealth tax”.  You probably didn’t know that it raised £58m for good causes in the year to 6 April 2018.

In 2017, the BBC produced a second series of the acclaimed Blue Planet (2001), both presented by Sir David Attenborough. It was the fourth episode of that sequel series, featuring a scene in which a turtle was caught in a plastic bag, before being freed by a cameraman, that has been credited with changing the way in which the Western World viewed it’s use of plastics and specifically single-use plastics.

This huge swell in public awareness of plastic pollution both domestically and internationally, has been referred to as the ‘Blue Planet effect‘.

In the UK, the BBC announced its intention to completely ban single-use plastics within its organisation by 2020.

Since then every industry has followed, every company, every school, every council and to a large extent everyone is conscious of their plastic consumption.

Reducing single-use plastic in our machines has been something that we have strived to improve upon, not just for our clients, but for our own corporate and social responsibility.   For most facilities, office or HR managers, reducing plastic has been a huge part of their company’s CSR policy.

In 2017, one client in particular tasked us with reducing or removing as much single-use plastic as possible.   With 9 snacks and drinks vending machines located across 3 company sites, we took upon the task with endeavour.

Wherever possible, we swapped a bottle for a can and in the second half of 2017, we were able to cut their single-use plastic consumption by over 50%.

Covid & Plastic

Much has been made of the impact that Covid has had on the environment – in particular the drop in pollution levels during lockdown – but we cannot escape the fact that plastic consumption has sky-rocketed throughout 2020.   And the painful part is that it is not good plastics!

The latest figures for Britain from the Office for National Statistics suggested 96% of adults who had left their homes in the past week had worn a face covering.

The official guidance for England is to wear a reusable, washable one where possible.

It also states that used disposable face coverings – often containing the plastic polypropylene – should be put in “black bag” waste bins “or a litter bin if you’re outside”.

It adds that people should “not put them in a recycling bin as they cannot be recycled through conventional recycling facilities” and “take them home… if there is no litter bin – do not drop them as litter”. ¹

Sanitiser bottles, disposable face masks and gloves fill our bins and litter our streets.   At Touch AR, our endeavours have shifted towards re-usable sanitiser sprays for our Operations Teams as we have pursued more regular disinfection of our machines.   We also made a commitment to only retail re-usable, washable face coverings in our vending machines.

To help prevent the spread of Covid, across the UK, face coverings aer now mandatory and as the PM says, there has been a “collosal spike in demand” for tests.   Therefore we find ourselves in a position where almost everything relating to Covid-Security contains or is packaged with single-use plastics and we are ploughing through these items in unbelievable quantities.   The UK is testing approximately 2.5 million people per week… that’s a lot of single-use plastic.

Some of the waste from just 3 Coronavirus self-test kits – imagine that times by 2.5 million.

“In the United Kingdom, so-called fly-tipping – illegal waste disposal – has risen by 300% during the pandemic. In some countries, companies that are advancing innovative methods of recycling and reusing waste plastics are reporting reduced amounts of plastic coming through waste streams, suggesting that a growing volume of plastic is ending up in landfills or leaking into the environment.”

Every Little Helps

We know that we must continue to focus on the small goals and commit to the mantra that every little helps.

Just a few trips into serviced offices or managed blocks in the past weeks I witnessed disposable face masks made available in large bowls – almost like you would expect to find peppermints or sweets.

As we continue the big return to work… the key question for facilities managers and block management departments is whether this could be replaced with something more sustainable.

We keep hearing the mantra that “this isn’t going away” – if it really isn’t going away, if this IS the new normal, shouldn’t the free – distribution of multiple plastic masks to each office worker or visitor be swapped for a single purchase of a plastic-free, re-usable and washable face covering?   Would most City commuters and workers, prefer a more fashionable item as something to purchase as a one-off?

Contact us to ask how we can help to reduce your plastic consumption and create a more sustainable solution for your Covid-secure work environment.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54057799

https://www.weforum.org/videos/19219-tipa-uplink

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The majority of us will spend around a third of our waking hours at work, so this is a good place to start when looking to improve well being. Poor eating habits during the day form a significant part of the problem for those struggling with their weight. The workplace can also be a big encourager for mindless eating, particularly during the afternoon slump. Watching our peers indulge can have a contagious effect, and eating unhealthy food in a certain environment can quickly become habit. Stress and anxiety also play their part, with a double pronged attack of weakening our ability to resist temptation, and making us crave comfort food.

So, employers undoubtedly have a key role to play in helping their staff to eat well. Here are three simple ways they can start the ball rolling:

1. Make it Easy

When we’re busy, a fast food lunch is often the easiest option. Less nutritious meals are quick to grab on the go and if we’re short on time, we are less likely to seek out alternatives. To help encourage staff to bring in fresh food, employers need to ensure any staff kitchen areas have a fridge, microwave, utensils and crockery. Some workplaces also provide free fruit and subsidise healthier options in the canteen, such as salad bars or baked potatoes.

However, when you’re working late to finish a project and the canteen is closed, often vending machines are your only option. They can be a very convenient source of temptation if they are filled with the typical fare of crisps, chocolate and fizzy drinks, but by switching over to some of the huge array of healthier snacks available, such as popcorn, protein bars, dried fruits, nuts and seeds, this is no longer the case. Also for workplaces without a canteen, vending machines can be a nutritional lifesaver, providing access to fresh wraps, sandwiches and salads.

2. Make it Clear

Healthy menu options must be easy to identify and, where applicable, canteen staff should be knowledgeable about the lower calorie options available so they can advise. Participating in relevant national campaigns and awareness weeks focuses attention and keeps the conversation going. Posters around the workplace reminding people of initiatives such as Food For Life and Change4Life can help too. Also, ideas like cookery workshops or tasting fairs in the workplace show commitment, get staff involved and offer opportunities to try new foods and understand how easily old favourites could be substituted for something healthier.

3. Make it a Habit

Creating a culture where staff feel able to take their full lunch break is vital. We all know it’s important, yet there remains a reluctance to break the habit of mindlessly eating at our desks, trying in vain to get on top of our inbox. Employers need to lead by example here, encouraging a definite break and giving employees the chance to stretch their legs, get some fresh air and enjoy a proper meal. This in turn improves performance and concentration, plus helps avoid the afternoon slump.

Touch Automated Retail: Vision for Vending

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