Wash, reuse, recycle – it’s our plea to you to help us prevent plastic pollution.
Our aim at Castleton Farm is to farm – and trade – in an ethical and environmentally sustainable way.
Our takeaway packaging is made of compostable plastic. It’s a safe and robust material that makes sure our food gets to you as its best self. And after you’ve enjoyed its contents, you can wash out the container and pop it in your recycling.
But… and here’s where we need your help.
We need you to do this to make sure it doesn’t go to landfill.
So remember – wash, reuse, recycle.
Plastic action
Scotland has a throwaway culture and we are doing our bit to turn this around.
The Scottish Government has banned providing single-use plastic items such as cutlery, plates and stirrers. It is estimated that about 700million of these single-use items are currently used in Scotland every year.
Seventy-seven percent of people living in Scotland are concerned about the amount of single-use plastic and single-use packaging we use in Scotland. So it’s no surprise that 94% of the population was in favour of the ban.
More than 90% of plastic in Scottish seas come from Scottish littering on land. And 70% of beach litter is single-use plastic packaging.
Catherine Bozec at Zero Waste Scotland said: “Unfortunately, each item is used for minutes and then discarded in the bin, or worse, found littering our streets, countryside, rivers and seas, where they can last for centuries.
“These regulations are a hugely important step in moving away from a throwaway society, towards a more circular economy.
“Customers and businesses now have an opportunity to break up with unnecessary single-use items, no matter what material they’re made from, and choose to reuse instead.”
Climate emergency
And on the subject of reusing, remember to bring your reusable coffee cup along for your takeaway brew.
This is an opportunity for us to think differently and only offer single-use items where absolutely required. All while helping to fight the climate emergency.
Polystyrene food containers and cups are also covered by the new ban as well as plastic straws and balloon sticks.
The legislation, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament during COP26 last year and came into effect at the start of this month, includes exemptions for single-use plastic straws. This is to make sure that those who need them for independent living or medical purposes can still access them.
We can make the most positive impact on the planet by shifting from single-use to reusables wherever possible.
Our ethos is that nothing should be single use, and the biggest use of plastic on the farm is in the packaging for the fruit. The current plastic fruit punnets used by Castleton Farm contain a minimum of 80% recycled plastic material and are 100% recyclable.
