Co-op has launched Europe’s most extensive in-store recycling scheme for plastic bags and food wrappings.
The scheme will see the UK’s sixth biggest supermarket become the first to have fully recyclable own-brand food packaging, whilst also tackling the confusing postcode lottery of kerbside collections.
More than 1,500 Co-op stores are set to launch in-store recycling units for ‘soft’ plastics by the end of July, with a total of 2,300 stores joining the scheme by November.
Co-op says the scheme will provide customers with an accessible disposal route for the sort of materials often not collected by UK councils, including carrier bags – both ‘single use’ and ‘bags for life’ – crisp packets, bread bags, biscuit wrappers, pet food pouches and tear-off lids from ready meals and yogurt pots.
The new scheme – which will accept all suitable packaging, regardless of where it is purchased – will ensure that all of Co-op’s own food packing is easily recyclable, either via kerbside collection or through the in-house closed loop system.
The retailer, who banned sales of bags for life from its stores earlier this year, estimates that 300 tonnes of plastic bags and food wrapping could be collected per year once the scheme is fully operational.
Jo Whitfield, CEO of Co-op Food, said: “As we face into an environmental crisis, we know from our feedback that there is a universal appetite for change. Which is why we are making it easier for thousands of households to recycle all of their plastic food packaging.
“This will not only prevent unnecessary waste but also reduce plastic pollution. By offering a simple and convenient solution to an everyday issue, we believe we can help communities to make small changes, that together will add up to a big difference for our environment.”
In some areas, less than 30 percent of household waste is currently recycled, with systems which can vary from council to council adding to the confusion.
Estimates from the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) suggest that, whilst plastic bags and wrapping make up around a fifth of all plastic packaging – by weight – in UK households, only 6% of it is recycled.
Helen Bird, WRAP’s strategic technical manager, said: “There’s no doubt that unnecessary plastic needs to be reduced; including bags and wrapping which is a fifth of all consumer plastic packaging. However, where it is necessary it is urgent to design it for recycling and ensure recycling systems are in place.
“It’s great to see the roll out of collections across Co-op’s stores significantly contributing to the goal of The UK Plastics Pact for all plastic packaging to be recyclable by 2025. Not only is the Co-op ensuring that the service is widely promoted, it is processing the material within the UK, demonstrating how we can build back better for the economy and environment.”
Image courtesy of The Co-Op Group.
