Recycling supermarket packaging

BBC Learning EnglishWeekenderRecycling supermarket packaging
Yvonne: Hello, you’re listening to Weekender frombbclearningenglish.com!
　　Can you guess what we’re talking about in today’sprogramme?
　　Ben Bradshaw, Environment MinisterThere was no instruction that you shouldn’t put in plasticbags, so we’d been happily putting plastic bags in ourrecycling bag for some time…Yvonne: Yes, we’re talking about packaging and recycling.
　　Have you ever arrived home with what seems like a lot ofshopping but then, when you take everything out of theplastic bags and unwrap all your goodies from thepackaging, you realise that you really didn’t buy thatmuch? Well, as we throw all that packaging away, it’s wellworth us remembering that we’re creating more problems forthe environment.
　　In a recent newspaper article, Environment Minister BenBradshaw and his family were caught out because they weren’t dealing 1 with all their plastic bags in the correct way.
　　So even the man who’s in charge of the Environment herecan get things wrong! Here he is again, but this time, tryto catch the reason why he made such a mistake?
　　Ben Bradshaw, Environment MinisterThere was no instruction that you shouldn’t put in plasticbags, so we’d been happily putting plastic bags in ourrecycling bag for some time.
　　Yvonne: So it’s really important that the authorities giveclear instructions about what people should do about alltheir recyclable items. The Bradshaw family was‘happily’ putting their plastic bags in the wrong bag. Inthis case, ‘happily’ means that they were unaware 2 thatthey were making a mistake, they didn’t know and they werequite satisfied that they were doing the right thing theentire time. Luckily, there are some supermarkets that takeback our spare plastic bags for re-use by other customersor for recycling - so that’s what the minister did.
　　Quite often, we get more than just a few plastic bags whenwe go shopping – we also get lots of packaging that wethrow away when we get home. So what are other countriesdoing to help reduce such waste?
　　Ben Bradshaw, Environment MinisterIn some other countries, people ‘pay as you throw’ if youlike. You pay for the amount of non-recyclable waste youproduce. And that has been shown to increase recycling anddecrease the overall amount of waste arising.
　　Yvonne: 'Pay as you throw' is a play on the phrase ‘pay asyou go’ which is what many people do with their mobile orcell phones. So rather than paying your bill after you'veused the phone, you pay for it when you need to use it –you 'pay as you go'.
　　As we heard, other countries have found that 'pay as youthrow' schemes are getting people to pay for what theythrow away – and that makes them throw away a lot less. AsBen Bradshaw says, recycling is increased while ‘non-recyclable waste’ is decreased – those are the thingsthat can’t be used again –'non-recyclable waste'.
　　Ben Bradshaw, Environment MinisterIn some other countries, people ‘pay as you throw’ if youlike. You pay for the amount of non-recyclable waste youproduce. And that has been shown to increase recycling anddecrease the overall amount of waste arising.
　　Yvonne: Often, it’s not our fault that goods are overwrapped, but we have the task of throwing away all thepackaging. Ben Bradshaw said he’d rather not make new lawsabout packaging because many supermarkets have nowrecognised that there is a problem - and they’ve signed anagreement saying that they will reduce their packaging. Butin the meantime, the Environment Minister Ben Bradshawtells the BBC TV breakfast team that there are three thingswe cando to help the shops become more responsible about wastepackaging. What are those three things?
　　Ben Bradshaw, Environment MinisterWell, a lot of people don’t know thata) They have a perfect right to complain if they thinksomething is over-packaged.
　　b) They’re perfectly 3 entitled 4 to leave the packaging forthe supermarket rather than for them to have to deal with(I suppose until you pay for it they own it?)…Exactly!
　　And thirdly, if it’s really outrageously 5 over-packaged youcan complain to your local trading standards office andcases can be taken out against over packaging. There havebeen some successful prosecutions 6.
　　Yvonne: Did you catch those three things that we can do tohelp supermarkets realise that we’d like them to use lesspackaging on their goods? Yes, first - complain to them.
　　Second, leave the packaging in the supermarket for them tothrow away. And of course, in some countries and areas,that could lead to lower ‘pay as you throw’ bills! Andthird, if things are ‘outrageously over-packaged’ as Benput it - ridiculously over wrapped, then we should complainto our local officials because there have been some‘successful prosecutions’. Someorganisations have been found guilty and have had to reducetheir packaging as a result.
　　Ben Bradshaw, Environment Ministera) They have a perfect right to complainb) They’re perfectly entitled to leave the packaging forthe supermarketAnd thirdly, if it’s really outrageously over-packaged youcan complain to your local trading standards office.
　　Yvonne: Is there a recycling programme where you live? Andhow good are people in your area at recycling things likeplastic bags or other types of packaging? Well, I'll leaveyou with that thought until next time. But that's all fortoday's Weekender from bbclearningenglish.com. Goodbye!