‘Traffic light’ plan could end public’s recycling confusion
Government urged to bring in colour coding to help cut packaging waste
A TRAFFIC light system should be introduced on food and household goods packaging to end recycling chaos, the Government has been told.
Under plans being considered by ministers, manufacturers would be forced to carry red, yellow and green symbols on packs to show consumers whether or not they can be recycled.
Alongside traffic light colours they would also carry numbers, which could be cross-checked with a recycling key provided by local councils.
It coincides with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) resources and waste strategy, which is due to be published over the coming weeks. The report will set out plans to harmonise the UK’S disjointed recycling system in which no two local councils have the same policy on what can and cannot be processed.
Data from Wrap, a waste charity, reveals that councils across the UK have drastically different recycling regimes, under which some households are able to recycle different items to others.
It means some families may be wasting their time trying to recycle items marked as “recyclable” because they are unaware their council cannot process it. For example, cling film, plant pots and takeaway trays are being recycled by less than 10 per cent of councils, figures show.
According to the recycling firm Suez Recycling and Recovery UK, mandatory on-pack “eco-labelling”, that features a new combined colour and number system, could provide a cost-effective solution to the challenge of simplifying recycling for consumers.
Under this system, each product category (as determined by the availability of an appropriate recycling system – such as aluminium, plastic bottles, card or glass) is assigned a permanent number correlating with the same number placed on bins and recycling containers across the country.
Businesses and councils would simply label their existing waste containers with the relevant numbers, depending on what can be recycled locally, rather than trying to “harmonise” hundreds of different systems by introducing new containers and infrastructure – a proposition many local authorities oppose.
The hope is that a negative or “red” eco-label would erode a brand’s reputation over time, encouraging them to change to become more sustainable.
David Palmer-jones, chief executive at Suez, said: “For years now manufacturers, retailers, local councils and waste managers have heard from consumers that the public finds the nation’s ‘binfrastructure’ confusing – a view supported by our recent research.
“Mandatory on-pack labelling must be just part of a radical shake-up by government to influence the way we make, consume and discard materials sustainably as a society.”
A Defra spokesman said: “We are looking at ways to reduce avoidable waste and recycle more and will set out details in our forthcoming resources and waste strategy. Through our 25year environment plan, we have committed to reforming packaging rules and will consult on this later this year.”
25 years The time span for Defra’s forthcoming environment plan to reform packaging rules