18/03/2025
Today, two important events draw our focus: World Serval Day and Global Recycling Day. While these causes might seem unrelated at first glance, both highlight the need for a shift in perspective, whether it’s in how we protect Servals or how we handle waste. Adam Kelvey explores the connections between these issues and how a change in mindset could help protect the planet as well as its creatures.
World Serval Day is an annual event intended to raise awareness of the plight of Servals. Servals are wild cats that thrive in the grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa. However, their mottled coat and oversized ears have endeared them to exotic pet enthusiasts. Servals are wild animals and very few owners have the secure outdoor space required to safely keep one; “pet” Servals often suffer as a result. Servals are also commonly bred with domestic cats to produce hybrid animals. These hybrid cats endure congenital health issues and may also pose a danger to wildlife and other pets as they retain many of their wild instincts. In 2023, these threats moved the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary on the Isle of Wight to mark the first World Serval Day (here). Since then, the event has been celebrated annually, on the 18th March.
Competing for our attention on the 18th March is Global Recycling Day. Unlike the plight of the Serval, few will need the importance of recycling spelled out to them. We have reported several times (here and here) on the environmental threat posed by our discarded waste. Plastic waste is particularly insidious. Of the 142 million tonnes of plastic packaging produced globally each year, only 10% is recycled (here). In the best case scenario, the other 90% is either sent to landfill or incinerated to generate energy. The reality is that most is simply “unmanaged”, ending up as litter, in open dumps, or watercourses with potentially devastating consequences for ecosystems and our health.
Much of the messaging we receive encouraging us to recycle our waste, plastic or otherwise, appeals to our altruism. But with the best will in the world, sorting our waste into half a dozen different bins remains an imposition; we as consumers are left with nothing to show for our efforts. But what if we could shift this mindset?
Fat Cats
I recently attended a talk on recycling innovation in which the speaker held up a used crisp packet and asked the audience what it was. After some discussion, consensus emerged that on a strictly materials level, he was holding a film of biaxially oriented polypropylene. The speaker then held up a crisp £20 note and asked the same question. Again, the audience agreed that he was essentially holding a piece of biaxially oriented polypropylene film. The point of the exercise was to demonstrate the difference in value we ascribe to what is essentially the same piece of material. The speaker went on to ask when was the last time we saw £20 notes littering the side of A roads, or washed up on beaches. Silence. Where a material holds some value, it is unlikely to ever become waste.
Many policy makers and innovators have identified this, and efforts are in place to exploit this human behaviour. Indeed, the second mission of Global Recycling Day is to “ask people across the planet to think resource, not waste, when it comes to the goods around us – until this happens, we simply won’t award recycled goods the true value and repurpose they deserve” (here).
In 2024 the Global Recycling Foundation, the body behind Global Recycling Day, awarded one of its ‘Recycling Heroes’ prizes to David Katz, founder and CEO of Plastic Bank. Instead of viewing plastic as mere waste, David sought to unveil its inherent value, transforming it into a currency for change (here). Through Plastic Bank, communities in the global south who are not served by traditional banks can register as collection members, and gather plastic waste in exchange for money. The Bank, which describes itself as a “social fintech”, uses proprietary block-chain technology, e-wallets, and digital IDs to track the plastic waste collected and distribute the associated payments. David’s work demonstrates how social end environmental change can go hand-in-hand.
The Pick of the Litter
The idea of ascribing some value to used products is nothing new. Some readers may wistfully recall returning glass bottles to shops in the 1960s and 1970s in exchange for a couple of pennies. Elsewhere in Europe, similar schemes for plastic bottles have been around for decades. As we previously reported (here), legislation included in the Environment Act 2021 set the groundwork for the UK’s first deposit return scheme (DRS) for plastic bottles. However, the scheme has been beset with delays and disagreement. At time of writing, the planned launch date is October 2027.
As with the Plastic Bank, traditional DRSs rely on technology to track the waste being deposited and manage the payments. In particular, these schemes rely on physical hardware, known as “reverse vending machines”, to collect and identify the container being returned, and to manage the payment.
The first such machine was introduced in Norway in 1972. The machine was developed by two brothers Tore and Petter Planke who together went on to found TOMRA which today is a world leader in reverse vending machines.
As described in a profile published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (here), TOMRA maintains its market share by ensuring it stays at the cutting edge of reverse vending machine technology. Reliable identification of the products being placed into the machine is a key area of development, as is materials processing and sorting technology. TOMRA has a significant patent portfolio to back up its research. WO 2020/157317 A1 describes a device for compressing empty containers. The device, which works with plastic bottles as well as aluminium cans, is fitted to the reverse vending machines allowing them to increase the number of products they can store before they need emptying. As with many areas of technology, TOMRA’s patents also reveal a pivot towards artificial intelligence. WO 2025/021722 A1 describes the use of a neural network classifier to identify contaminants from a fast moving conveyer of recyclable material.
Chasing Tails
It would be easy to mark Global Recycling Day by reaffirming the need for everyone to ‘do their bit’ and recycle their waste. But perhaps we should instead try to find the value in the products we might consider waste; policy makers and innovators are already working to help us see this. If we can make this shift in mindset, then an increase in recycling will naturally follow. Our waste could then go on to have nine lives (or more!).
In a similar way, a mindset shift may be needed to protect the welfare of the Serval. While they may look like slightly oversized domestic cats, they are anything but. We must learn to view these felines as the wild animals that they are. If we can change our perspectives on both of these issues today, 18th March, then hopefully we can ensure plastic waste is kept out of the natural environment, and Servals are only kept in the natural environment.
This article is for general information only. Its content is not a statement of the law on any subject and does not constitute advice. Please contact Reddie & Grose LLP for advice before taking any action in reliance on it.
