Pandemic Plastic - a Burning Issue

Moderated by Jonathan Leake, former science and environment editor at The Sunday Times, joined also by the EU Commission’s Professor Helmut Maurer and sustainability Advisor Georgia Elliot-Smith, UNESCO Special Envoy for Youth & Environment, and Jacob Hayler (below), Executive Director of the Environmental Services Association. Part of a new series of regular environmental discussions, curated and organised by Clear Public Space

[@ShlomoDowen]

A very lively and interesting exchange. In response to my question about the ESA making more information available via their website, and Jacob's suggestion details of CO2 emissions and incinerator feedstock composition are readily available as part of the Environment Agency's public register, perhaps Jacob could provide us with links to publicly available documents, containing details of the gross CO2 emissions from incinerators (and how these figures were derived) and the composition of their feedstock (e.g. the percentage that is plastic).
I also note that a recent study of Welsh Commercial & Industrial waste found that “The majority of the [residual C&I] waste analysed (74.5% (+/- 2.4%) or 450,478 tonnes annually) could have potentially been recycled.” - www.wrapcymru.org.uk/reports/composition-analysis-commercial-and-industrial-waste-wales - while a recent English study found that "Of total residual waste from household sources in England in 2017, an estimated 53% could be categorised as readily recyclable, 27% as potentially recyclable, 12% as potentially substitutable and 8% as difficult to either recycle or substitute." - assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/907029/resources-and-waste-strategy-monitoring-progress.pdf - as such, most of what is currently incinerated could and should have been recycled or composted.