Why Another Weigh?
The increase in packaging used for food has grown exponentially in our lifetimes. Unfortunately, this is not without cost to the planet and its ecosystems.
The production of packaging uses resources and energy which cause greenhouse gas emissions. Most of it is used once and then discarded. Packaging that ends up in landfill creates further greenhouse gas emissions in the form of methane. Packaging that doesn’t may enter the watercourse and find its way into the oceans. Plastic in the ocean does not biodegrade, but breaks up into tiny particles called microplastics. These are consumed by marine animals and birds and enter the food chain. It is predicted that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than life. We are beginning to see the devastating impact on marine life, but can only guess where this will lead if the plastic tap is not switched off. The impact on human health is unknown, but it has been shown that there is now plastic in a third of the UK fish that we eat.
Why not recycle?
Well, yes, we all should do what we can to recycle, but it is not the answer. Less than 10% of plastic is actually recycled and in the main, it can only be downgraded into an inferior plastic and can only be recycled once. Paper can be recycled up to eight times and glass indefinitely, but this process still uses energy and so produces greenhouse gases.
The idea behind Another Weigh is to create a circular economy which is a regenerative system where wastage of resources, energy and emissions are minimised. It makes perfect sense.