The weighty issue of the recycling business

Something concerning his company right now was a tendency for big retail brands to opt for heavier recyclable packaging over lightweight alternatives. Some of the lighter materials can be far more environment-friendly and even made of recycled materials themselves. So why shouldn't the big brands who are competing to have the greenest credentials not go for the most sustainable option?

It was interesting (or worrying) that he claimed the heavier - and sometimes less green - packaging was favoured because it was more likely to help meet recycling targets. Never mind the carbon, it meant more tonnes recycled.

Let's look at the bigger picture.

If we re-use stuff - or simply use less in the first place - we don't contribute to recycling at all. So what we really need to work on are the appropriate measures of sustainable living.

From my family point of view, what really pleases me is that since we've had the council's kerbside collection of all our paper, glass and plastics, plus the compost bin in the kitchen, we now put out a single black bag for the binmen almost every week. That's not bad for a family of four and a significant improvement on when I used to buy extra black bags even when I was living alone.

Interestingly, it means it now takes our family two weeks to fill a dustbin of household rubbish. And if we had a wheelie bin, it would take us perhaps four weeks to fill it.

So here's another interesting question: What is more environment-friendly? Driving a big lorry around the streets every week, or waiting till the bins are full and saving a journey?

I say these facts are 'interesting' because I don't know if they actually provide the answer. They simply serve to stimulate debate and seek an answer without being too wedded to the way things have always been done in the past.

To make sound decisions on very important issues we really need a full appreciation of all the facts. The problem is that in this soundbite generation everyone wants simple answers and they want then NOW. And that's a real challenge for people in the communications business.

For example, an easy message might be: "don't buy food that's air freighted from around the globe". It's easy for consumers to visualise the huge energy consumption of refrigerated cargo planes.

But what if those same consumers then switch to buying fruit grown in the UK in greenhouses heated by fossil fuels? How does that help?

Perhaps to make some real impact on slowing down climate change we have to give up a few luxuries (or a few weekly bin collections even). That's going to be a much harder message to sell and a real challenge for the PR industry in the years to come.