One-third of UK supermarket plastic is not easily recyclable, analysis shows
19th July 2018 | Recycling
Almost a third of plastic packaging used by UK supermarkets is either non-recyclable through standard collection schemes or difficult to recycle, according to a new analysis by a consumer group.
Which? Is urging the government to introduce compulsory “clear and simple” recycling labelling on all plastic packaging as its new research reveals “huge inconsistencies” involving myriad different schemes and with some items not labelled at all.
Its analysis of the packaging used for 27 everyday own-brand items to 10 major chains found that Lidl had the lowest proportion of widely recyclable packaging – at 71%. Iceland (73%), Ocado (74%) and Sainsbury’s (75%) were also close to the bottom of the pile. Overall, the analysis found that up to 20% of plastic packaging was not widely recyclable.
Recyclable
The best performer was Morrisons with easily recyclable packaging for 81% of its tested products. For example, Morrisons’ chocolate cake was in a widely recyclable plastic box, while Lidl’s came in mixed packaging comprising a non-recyclable film within a widely recyclable box with a non-recyclable window.
The plastic on M&S and Waitrose apples was labelled as non-recyclable, yet the type of plastic they are wrapped in actually is recyclable at supermarket collection points. Other products had labels that were only visible once the food was unwrapped.
“Which? Believes a lot more can be done to increase the amount of recyclable packaging and the way it is labelled so that consumers know what can be recycled and how to recycle it,” says Nikki Stopford, director of research and publishing at Which? “The plastic pollution crisis makes it more crucial than ever that the government, manufacturers and supermarkets do the best they can to banish plastic that cannot be recycled and promote the use of less damaging packaging.”
The analysis highlighted black plastic trays ad “orange nets” as items that remain a huge challenge. The latter are not only non-recyclable, but they can also cause huge problems if they wrongly end up in a recycling sorting plant and risk getting caught in the machinery.
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