SCRAP

Tony Langham has waged a determined campaign to rid Salisbury of plastic bags over several years. Last night, following the AGM of the local hospital, he invited me to attend a presentation by Roger Munford on the experience of Germany in driving forward packaging recycling over the past 20 years.

There are a number of lessons that can perhaps be applied to the UK's approach. I will be writing to DEFRA today to ask for a detailed examination of the "DSD experience" to determine how progress can be made on this matter. It is clear that boldness will be needed if we are going to remove the blight of unnecessary packaging and the consequent disposal problem – effective recycling on a bigger scale must be the sensible way forward. However, we also need to find a practical solution; one that is honest about the costs and legal barriers to implementing an effective policy change.

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