Tipa unveils senior public affairs hires

Tomos Davies, formerly of FleishmanHillard and a one-time Government special adviser in the Cameron and May administrations, joins Jack McKevoir, formerly of Danone, as part of an expanded public affairs function at the Israeli headquartered start-up. They will report to Julia Schifter, vice president strategy analysis.

Their appointments come at a significant moment for the packaging industry. Both the UK Government and EU Commission have outlined ambitious environmental proposals to tackle the scourge of single-use plastic, including the introduction of the UK’s Plastic Packaging Tax and the EU’s upcoming revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive.

 Today, 40% of consumer goods are wrapped in flexible plastic representing, representing 25% of the waste stream both in the UK and Europe. Yet, consumer flexible plastic packaging is considered hard-to-recycle with no solutions. Currently merely 6% of flexible plastic packaging is recycled in the UK and less than 2% in Europe, with most packaging incinerated or ending up in landfill.

 Both the UK Government and the EU severely risk their ability to reach the ambitions UK Plastics Pact goals and the EU updated recycling rate by 2025 without applying new models to rethink and redesign flexible plastic.

 Designed to integrate with bio-waste streams and fully biodegrade into compost, Tipa’s compostable packaging solutions are a critical part of the picture to effectively tackle the issue of hard-to-recycle flexible plastics.

There is huge appetite for alternatives to plastic consumption from consumers. A report released by Amcor demonstrated the most popular alternative to conventional plastic in the UK were compostable alternatives, with 46% of consumers stating they would more likely buy a product with compostable packaging, compared to only 37% for products packaged in recycled materials. 27% of the British public also felt that biodegradable and compostable materials were the least damaging to the environment, compared to just 20% who felt the same for recyclable material.

Whilst there is overwhelming consumer support for compostable products across the UK and Europe, further research and development risks being stifled without greater legislative and political support from government, with polluting conventional plastics gaining an upper hand.

Tomos Davies said: “I’m delighted to be joining TIPA at such a seminal moment for the packaging industry. Consumers are more educated than ever about the impacts of single-use plastic and are calling for swift implementation of sustainable solutions to plastic waste and pollution. I look forward to leading TIPA’s advocacy in the UK, demonstrating how our ground-breaking technology and compostable packaging solutions can provide the answer to arguably the greatest environmental and public policy challenge of our age.”

 Jack McKeivor said: “There are few products which truly epitomise the meaning of ‘circular economy’ in the 21^st century. I’m excited to be joining such an innovative and forward-thinking business which is on the cusp of transforming our relationship with conventional plastic packaging. With a wealth of policy and legislative initiatives emerging at an EU-level, I look forward to mobilising our external stakeholders and partners to promote sustainable, compostable waste management streams.”

 Julia Schifter, Vice President Strategy Analysis said: “Tipa’s compostable solutions are a critical part of the picture to effectively tackle the issue of hard-to-recycle flexible plastics. I’m delighted to have Tomos and Jack leading the charge in making compostable solutions a key part of the policy conversation in the UK and Brussels and to enact the clamour for change from consumers”