This is just one of the piles of rubbish left on the streets of Cardiff after the Six Nations.
Despite the fact that some of this could be made of biodegradable material, it’s all being sent to landfill.
Takeaway containers can’t be recycled because they’re either made of polystyrene or covered in food.
Packaging company Vegware say their biodegradable packaging is an eco-friendly alternative for restaurants and cafes. However, Cardiff Council currently doesn’t have the facilities to recycle this kind of packaging.
The aftermath of yesterday’s win in #Cardiff. Nothing to celebrate here. #SingleUsePlastics #waste #rubbish
📷 Haydn Denman pic.twitter.com/n9XClyyiAm— r i p p l e (@ripple_living) February 24, 2019
Natalie Rees, a waste campaigner, said without the right facilities, biodegradable packaging can cause problems.
“It’s quite common post-match days to have large quantities of waste in town – you do see it out into the suburbs as well and you do see the aftermath quite quickly,” she said.
“It’s not paper and it’s not plastic and so if it goes into either stream it’s a contaminant so it affects the quality of the material. A lot of waste plastic is used to make things like bin bags and agricultural wraps and if you put bioplastics in you can see it in the material”
Some businesses in Cardiff are still using biodegradable packaging.
Sarah Smith runs Clancy’s in Cardiff Market and she uses the packaging even though it’s expensive.
“We use Vegware because we believe in protecting the planet, looking after the environment and using products that are recyclable. It costs us probably four or five times the amount of regular, cheaper alternatives”.
The Welsh Assembly has ruled out investment in composting facilities for biodegradable packaging.
