Single-use vs reusables post Covid-19.
We are now in a world trying to get back to normal post lockdown. Everyone wants to get back to normal at the same time as staying safe and protecting the more vulnerable members of our society.
With this in mind we wanted to reference the reuse/refill vs single-use discussion that we have been asked about by many of our Plastic Free Champions. Specifically; how we can try to limit the impact that Covid 19 is having on our waste/plastic footprints?
With the Government guidance currently saying “It is up to the individual business to decide whether they allow the use of reusable cups or containers during this period”, we want to support businesses make the right decision. We want to give businesses the confidence to keep single use to a minimum and remind people that we are here to open up a conversation, publicise good practice and support businesses through this period of time.
We want to encourage better choices and remind everyone that this is a huge opportunity for us all to ‘build back better’. There is obviously some anxiety and increased pressures on businesses to ensure they are not the source of any kind of infection increase and we all want to do everything we possibly can to minimise that risk. Nothing is Covid proof, so what’s important is making choices to minimise environmental impact. Let’s look at disseminating some of the advice and evidence out there….
Massive thanks to Surfers Against Sewage, City to Sea and Break Free From Plastic for providing some excellent resources for us to work from.
Official government and World Health Organisation guidance - Initially government guidance advised plastic single-use sachets which has since been amended to include reusable dispensers providing they are cleaned after use! See section 5.2 point 4 in this link
Food Standards Agency Guidance: Food Standards Agency Guidance here. Government, FSA and World Health Organisation guidelines don’t ban or discourage refill and reuse and continue to emphasise that washing our hands ,sanitizing surfaces and social distancing are still the best things we can be doing.
Plastic VS Paper? - Several research projects have found that Covid lives longer on plastic than on paper or card. If a business wants to individually wrap goods use paper. Research paper here.
Catching Covid from surfaces is virtually nil’ - See the webinar link below from Upstream for an expert opinion from Dr. Ben Locwin, Epidemiologist and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Consultant. He states that COVID-19 is a respiratory virus, tells us why social distancing is actually more effective than wiping down and how there is not one material which is guaranteed to stop the virus . WHO also states that there are no known cases yet of the virus transmitting through food packaging surfaces. So while Coronavirus doesn’t care whether an item is single use or reusable, our planet definitely does.
Reusable Containers are safe - Soap and hot water are effective at killing coronavirus plus other viruses and bacteria. Home and commercial dishwashers are more effective than hand-washing because of the added benefit of high temperature and prolonged washing. If the public are handing them over to you, make sure they are clean - you have every right to refuse them. If you do want to protect yourself or staff from any possible surface contamination wear gloves (bear in mind they don’t stop you from spreading it around and can lead to false sense of protection). It is up the customer to make sure they wash their hands after they receive it back from you. Either way, if it's a reusable container or a single use one, you are still passing it on to them, it makes no difference. This was further backed up by over 100 scientists who signed a statement on 21st June amid fears that the environmental battle to reduce single-use plastic waste is losing ground over fears of virus contamination. 119 scientists made up of epidemiologists, virologists, biologists, chemists and doctors from 18 countries say reusable containers do not increase the chance of virus transmission and reusable systems can be used safely by employing basic hygiene. You can read the full Guardian article here.
Reusable coffee cups - Some cafes have stopped letting you take your reusable cups to minimise risk to themselves but there are ways around it and the contamination risk is low. If you want to avoid any contact at all with the cup check out the #contactlesscoffee campaign video by City to Sea: https://www.citytosea.org.uk/contactless-coffee/
Are disposables safer? - No, they’re not when compared to properly cleaned reusables. Single-use disposables can harbor viruses and pathogenic bacteria. They are subject to whatever pathogens have settled on them from manufacture, transport, inventory stocking, and eventual use. In addition, according to a recently-released peer-reviewed scientific consensus statement, over 12,000 chemicals are used in food packaging, and many of them are hazardous to human health. Migration of these toxic chemicals out of disposables into our food and drinks is not an issue with non-plastic reusables. (Break free from plastic)
PPE Masks - Masks for public transport are now compulsory and a very effective way of protecting yourself and others around you generally BUT they don't have to be disposable, choose REUSABLE. ‘’Between the end of February and mid-April this year more than a billion items of personal protective equipment were given out in the UK alone. In a hospital environment, these items are regarded as medical waste, but we’re seeing them littering our streets and washing up on beaches across the world’’ (City to sea) . For an easy step by step guide on how to stop PPE becoming plastic pollution check out this video https://youtu.be/w1JHQd3vgNE. The government guidance on how to wear and make your own face covering is here. You can also check out the local group https://www.facebook.com/frontlinePPEnorthdevon/ for reusable masks set up by a local GP.
Can you still refill someone's water bottle? YES. The same applies here as stated above. Just avoid touching the spout and the opening of the bottle on the tap itself (the same practice as before).
If you are a food and drinks business tell your customers what you are doing and why (fee free to use any evidence from above) . This will help ease any anxiety that your customers may be feeling and help us all to move forward together whilst protecting both the most vulnerable in our community and our environment. This situation is with us for a while.
Common sense really is your biggest ally and tool in this. Hand hygiene and social distancing are the key ways to stop the spread of the virus. Breaking down your own practices step by step will quickly uncover ways to minimise the real risk and identify measures to reassure and protect without unnecessary single use.
We really love this open letter that Break Free from Plastic wrote to the EU entitled : A post COVID-19 world – Enabling lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis for a more resilient economy. It’s really worth a read if you have a bit of time.
Single-use plastic and the disposable lifestyle, backed by the petrochemicals industry, is at the core of social injustices that COVID-19 is bringing to light, we must try to resist.
Please get in touch if you need any help or additional guidance. Feel free to share this information with any other business that may find it useful and please share any best practice with us so we can shout about it.
Much people and planet saving power and love.