Packaging must abandon ‘the Pringles factor’

Recycling chief says manufacturers must get things right

Producers and manufacturers need to pay greater attention to recyclable packaging and move away from the “idiotic” Pringles tube model, an environmental expert has said.

Simon Ellin, chief executive of trade body the Recycling Association, said the packaging industry in the UK had made “some extraordinary progress” in recent years.

But he said the distinctive Pringles snack packaging is an example of not getting the design right when considering the environment.

He told a conference: “What idiot designed this in terms of recyclability?

“We’ve got a cardboard tube, a metal bottom, a plastic lid.

“The Pringles factor – right at the design stage, we’ve got to get that right.

“What we’re putting in our recycling bins has got to be recyclable. We’ve got to get away from the Pringles factor.”

It comes as the Prince of Wales joined record-breaking yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur yesterday to launch the New Plastics Economy Innovation Prize in London to challenge groups and individuals to find new ways of designing packaging to help reduce plastics in the world’s oceans.

A Pringles spokesman said: “We take our responsibilities to the planet we all share seriously and are continuously working to improve our environmental performance.

“All parts of a Pringles can act as a barrier to protect the chips from environmental contamination and to keep them fresh.”