F E AT U RE LAID TO WASTE Plastic is the nemesis of our time, clogging the oceans and strangling the land. Carina Bailey takes a look at what the moving and packaging industries are doing to help combat the problem CARINA BAILEY 60 FF289FebMar19 pp60-62 Environment.indd 60 T he world is drowning in plastic. The UN Environment Programme thinks that plastics make up as much as 95 per cent of the marine litter found on coastlines, sea surface and the ocean floor, while various reports have estimated that the amount of plastic finding its way into our oceans worldwide is anywhere between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes each year. Others have claimed that, since the Second World War, humans have made enough plastic to coat the entire planet in clingfilm, while the plastic being dumped in our oceans is apparently the equivalent of one refuse trucks-worth every minute and rising. Its unclear how much the moving industry contributes to the problem but, according to the more ecologically minded packaging companies, there needs to be a radical shift within some global relocation companies to look at their corporate social responsibilities not just the financial cost of using environmentally friendly packing products if we are to help loosen the grip of plastic on our planet. DOING THE RIGHT THING UK-based KES Packaging manufactures paper packaging products used for household goods during transit. According to Managing Director Kirk Smith, the companys aim is to use recyclable products in-house, as well as through its clients. I hate selling plastic, nonrecyclable packaging, but thats sometimes what our customers demand, says Smith. One of the ways the moving industry contributes to the plastics problem is through the use of plastic laminate bubble wrap. Smith explains: Although this carries a recyclable logo, it is only recyclable if the three WWW. F I D I . OR G 23/01/2019 16:51