Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Although measures to control the spread of the virus have had some positive environmental effects, such as decreases in global emissions of carbon dioxide, the use of single-use plastics has accelerated. For example, some schools have changed to using disposable cutlery during lunches due to COVID-19 restrictions; and bag use has increased to curb virus transmission. Furthermore, PPE waste has strained the capacity of waste management systems due to the complex composition of some PPE materials, making waste recycling a challenge. Consider:

• Address the challenges faced by waste management systems by including surge capacity and the environmental impact of waste in disaster management plans
• Prioritise reusable personal protective equipment
• Move from a linear to a circular economy to prevent products (including plastic) from becoming waste:
  • Introduce a phased ban on the use of all types of single-use plastic, e.g. via a tax on plastic packaging
  • Partner with organisations such as 'Recircle', to develop strategies to recycle rubber, a product that accounts for almost 10% of micro plastic waste found in the sea
• Commit to action at local levels, e.g. introduce a community single-use plastics policy and action plan:
  • Partner with local waste authorities, charities, community groups, schools, businesses and residents to create action plans and campaigns to reduce the use of single use plastic in the community, e.g. 'Good to know' posters in schools that provide fun facts on the benefits of re-cycling to increase awareness in young people
  • Collaborate with local water management authorities to install COVID-safe water fountains across the community, enabling free refills of water

COVID-19 has strained food producers and distributors (e.g. disrupted food supply chains, problematized crop harvesting, impacted logistics and distribution), and this has impacted the amount of food waste created in the supply chain. COVID-19 has also changed household food waste creation by affecting household income, shopping habits and consumption patterns. The implications are broad. For example, the real cost of food has increased for some vulnerable households, who must purchase from supermarkets that will deliver rather than shop at their usual 'cheaper' shops. Food waste has become an important concern for organisations and households, and some countries are taking strong action. Consider:

• Charge businesses and families that waste food (such as in South Korea, where the proportion of recycling food increased from 2% to 95% in 2009)
• Strengthen partnerships between food producers and distributors and local food initiatives
• Develop local agriculture and growing food in and around cities, e.g. Singapore identified unused spaces in its cities to create urban farms to address supply chain issues cause by COVID-19
• Partner with local volunteer initiatives that tackle food poverty and food waste:
  • Ensure voluntary food distribution groups have the necessary equipment to store nutritious food and distribute that to the community
  • Set up community fridges, e.g. local parishes or town halls to support local groups
  • To ensure food that is not fit for consumption is recycled appropriately
  • Support groups in the collection, transportation and redistribution of food
• Educate households on:
  • How to store food safely after purchasing
  • Safe ways to store and re-use leftovers
  • How to correctly recycle food waste
  • Recipes on for using leftover ingredients
  • How to safely donate excess food
  • How to interpret food labels correctly

During national lockdowns and tiered restrictions, visitation to public spaces such as parks has increased dramatically. This increased concentration of people in particular areas poses risk of virus transmission from those who are not abiding by COVID rules. Despite their best efforts, Police have limited capacity to respond to breaches of COVID-19 regulations. As a result there are many breaches going unchallenged and reports of a culture of breaches taking hold. Volunteers, namely COVID Marshals or Ambassadors, can create more capacity to engage, explain and encourage compliance and, when combined with a public app to report breaches, can target deployment to breach hot spots. Consider:

• Identify the types of breaches it may be appropriate to deploy COVID Marshals to so they can engage, explain and encourage compliance
• Identify, select, and train people who may be suitable as COVID Marshals (follow ISO22319)
• Identify safe working practices for the COVID Marshals e.g. deployment in pairs
• Using reports from the public to identify public spaces where breaches are likely to occur
• Develop a system to deploy, monitor, support, and debrief COVID Marshals

Recent research in the UK suggests that people are planning to drive more in future than they did before the coronavirus pandemic, despite the fact many people accept human responsibility for the climate crisis. The preference to travel by car is likely the result of people feeling unsafe on public transport as a result of COVID, reduced public transport services, and a lack of trust in services. To encourage tangible action on climate change for recovery and renewal from COVID-19, localised climate policies for transport can consider:

• Limit and reduce measures to increase road capacity as research suggests new road capacity encourages more traffic and increased emissions
• Introducing low emission zones and/or congestion charging areas - the funds from these can be used to subsidise public transport
• Invest in rapid transition to electric vehicles for public services e.g. public transport, waste removal, and for vehicles that are required to be used by council staff (a 'grey fleet' of vehicles used by staff but not owned by the council)
• Build reduce car use into local plans to consider quality walking and cycling routes, and the provision of transport and delivery hubs to enable the use of cargo bikes and similar for deliveries
• Require that all taxis are electric vehicles through licensing regulations

Green spaces have become fundamental to people's physical and mental wellbeing through COVID-19, especially during periods of lockdown. Increased use of these spaces requires some adaptations to green space management to ensure the recovery of both people and the environment. Consider:

• Campaigns to make the public aware that many green spaces and parks in the UK are run by local volunteers - and that the limited funding and capacity means that essential services such as waste collection are limited and the public can help by taking their litter home with them to not cause litter issues
• Campaigns to boost volunteer numbers to help the maintenance of green spaces
• Increased signage in local green spaces to remind people that they can help protect their local ecosystems in times where green spaces are seeing increased human traffic by:
  • Sticking to paths to avoid disturbing woods and meadows
  • Not disturbing deadwood as this is vital to local ecosystems
  • Not removing anything from the green space
  • Taking litter home

COVID-19 has resulted in food shortages in certain parts of the world due to disrupted supply chains. The compounding impacts of poor harvests as a result of climate change requires the adoption of new farming techniques to protect the environment and lives and livelihoods. Conservation agriculture promotes minimal soil disturbance, crop diversification and the use of organic fertilizer to conserve and improve the soil, and makes more efficient use of natural resources. It is therefore climate-smart from an adaptation as well as mitigation viewpoint. Consider:

• Introducing environmentally friendly legislation and incentives. In the UK, the Agriculture Bill is reforming farming to provide subsidies not simply for cultivating land (which is the current EU approach) but for delivering "public goods" e.g. sequestering carbon in trees or soil, enhancing habitat with pollinator-friendly flowers
• Moving beyond a model of short-term farming subsidies e.g. through stronger legislative commitments to long term funding, domestic environmental and animal welfare standards, and safeguards on import standards
• How to promote the benefits of conservation agriculture for farmers including financial savings that can be made due to less use of machinery, labour and pesticides
• Using digital technologies to disseminate important information on how to limit post-harvest losses, and improve better access markets and financial services
• Encouraging the public to continue to 'buy local' during the pandemic (e.g. through farms practicing conservation agriculture), as this supports local, sustainable food supply chains

COVID-19 has exposed disparities in access to open and green space. Improved access can have positive effects on physical and mental health, communities as a whole and the environment. Consider impacts on:

The individual:

• Provides areas for exercise, and improves mental health
• Park closures and restrictions on movement due to COVID-19 negatively and disproportionately effects those without gardens and those who are less economically well off

The community:

• Increasing the quantity of green spaces reduces traffic which reduces pollution and encourages city safety
• Green space for social housing directly addresses socio-economic disparities regarding
• Can simultaneously address other environmental factors such as flood risk management

This may include:

• Reimagining how cities are built and organised e.g. Brussels is creating 40km of new cycle paths; France is providing cyclists with subsidies; UK has announced a œ2bn infrastructure scheme to encourage more walking and cycling
• Accelerating environmentally friendly projects such as increased investment in electric vehicle infrastructure

Also consider the unintended consequences of green infrastructure solutions. In the case of battery production for electric vehicles, consideration should be given to the environmental degradation caused by mining for battery components for electric vehicles, the ethical considerations of using mines in developing countries, the lifecycle of batteries and how they will be recycled in large quantities.

For example:

• Consider how trusted experts can support discussions about the climate change agenda and inform public policy
• Consider how new behaviours adopted through the pandemic can be encouraged to support the climate change agenda, and how people's adaptability can be harnessed
• Consider how short-term actions can be embedded in longer-term climate change actions e.g. the reduction of unnecessary air travel (e.g. for business meetings) and the encouragement of more home-working (e.g. using videoconferencing)
• Learn from 'known unknowns' - foreseen possibilities that are not obviously (such as pandemics and climate change) and therefore lacked effective emergency planning

In the UK, parts of the city of York is made up of very narrow lanes in which social distancing would not be possible. The following measures, which could be applied to other locations with similar city designs are considered:

• Develop a pedestrian one-way-system with road markings, cones or barriers to mitigate people having to pass closely to one another. Consider markings that are temporary to preserve areas of historic interest
• Install hand sanitiser dispensers on streets, recognising that these may be alcohol based
• Initiate measures to keep pedestrians moving such as restricting photography

Reference: Resilience expert, UK