Wouldn’t it be fantastic if fines were introduced for individuals who have been caught still using single-use plastic including plates, cups and utensils?

That’s exactly what has happened at an island off the east coast of Italy named Isole Tremiti – an archipelago. Beginning from May 1st 2018, anyone caught using plastic dining items is likely to be fined between €50 and €500 as it is now deemed illegal.

The move came after scientists had measured alarming levels of plastic particles in the surrounding waters.

The mayor of the island said “Day after day we’re seeing humans kill our sea and we had to do something, immediately.” What is most worrying is that the island has a protected status and lies directly within a protected marine reserve. Islanders are now encouraged to use reusable and biodegradable utensils instead.

Should we introduce this to the UK? It would certainly help to reduce the amount of single plastic cutlery that we currently use, but imagine if this was done for toner cartridges too? A minimum £50 fine for each toner cartridge sent to landfill would result in a HGE amount of money, considering 65 million printer and copier cartridges are sold in the UK every year, 85% of which (55.25 million) are sent to landfill. So that would be a trivial amount of £2,762,500,000 in fines.

Would you be prepared to pay a fine in the region of £50-500 for each toner cartridge that you don’t recycle correctly? You’re costing the planet more than just money each time your cartridge ends up in a landfill site.

Start recycling your toner cartridge correctly and safely today with our award winning recycling scheme; The Greener Side.

Feel free to e-mail us any questions lauren@greener-side.co.uk