ISN’T IT TIME TO WRAP UP PROBLEMS WITH RECYCLING?

Jessica Walford looks at the problems of recycling crisp packets – and what can be done about it

IT’S lunchtime. After slurping down a coffee, you open your sandwiches and crisps to tuck into a midday feast. Afterwards, you head to the recycling bin and make sure you recycle your coffee cup – if you haven’t used a reusable one in the first place.

But what about crisp packets and sandwich cartons? Millions buy them every day, but why aren’t we recycling them?

According to a Mintel report published in January, the potato snack is eaten by 90% of adults on a regular basis and has been a staple in children’s packed lunchboxes for generations.

But it seems the tide is turning about how eco-friendly the packaging actually is.

Despite consumers buying around 3.7 million tonnes of plastic packaging, only around 842,000 tonnes gets recycled – with most of the plastic we use ending up in landfill.

While some local authorities recycle item such as water bottles and cling film, things like crisp packets are currently not recyclable. So, why aren’t they? The issue is that, although they look like foil, which can be recycled, they’re actually made from a metallised plastic that cannot be.

If you’re not sure, scrunch up the packet. If it stays squashed, you can recycle it.

Is there anything that can be done to change this?

Earlier this year, a petition for crisp kings Walker’s to ditch plastic packaging for their crisp packets started and has had nearly 250,000 signatures so far, with the author saying packets were “poison for the environment”.

The description reads: “Currently the majority of crisp packets in the UK and worldwide are not recyclable so they have to go to landfill. As a nation the UK alone consumes approximately six billion packets a year. Imagine what the figure would be for Europe or worldwide. That’s an awful lot of landfill and poison for the environment.

“Crisp packets have been found intact after 33 years. Imagine during that time the effect on wildlife and the environment. At today’s consumption rate, in 33 years’ time there will be 200 billion crisp packets either sent to landfill or polluting our oceans. Many will be ingested by animals, fish or birds, leading to a slow lingering death.” Is there a way of solving this? Part of the problem is trying to recycle when we’re on the go, says Professor Wouter Poortinga, from the School of Psychology at Cardiff University.

“Wales is already doing really well at recycling, and is even one of Europe’s top recycling nations,” he said.

“Most of the plastic bottles that are being used at home are already being recycled. The problem is when we consume food and drinks on the go.

“This applies to coffee cups, but also to water bottles and crisps. While technically coffee cups can be recycled, there is no straightforward way to dispose of them in the right way, which basic a l l y means that less

than 1% of coffee cups actually gets recycled. The same for plastic bottles. “Around 60% of all plastic bottles are recycled, but these are the bottles we use at home. Very few of the bottles we consume on the go are being recycled. Most of the plastic bottles are then simply thrown away or littered. “But we have to be careful that we do not focus on one specific thing. It is a much wider issue. Single-use packaging and plastics have invaded every aspect of our lives. Currently households produce more than five million tonnes of waste from packaging alone, most of which were single use only. “To reduce that, more needs to happen than doing away with coffee cups and crisp packets alone. “People have become more aware of waste and plastics after the carrier bag charge was introduced a few years ago, and also after seeing Blue Planet II last year. But awareness does not automatically translate into behaviour change. “You also need to have producers and retailers on board, for them to do their bit; do away with single-use items and packaging where you can; and to make it easier to recycle.” Now there are calls for the government to encourage companies to make it easier for consumers to recycle more items. The Welsh Government says they are aiming to recycle at least 70% of waste by 2025, and to be a zero waste nation by 2050. But with advice to throw away crisp packets in the bin on the Recycle for Wales website (a national recycling campaign funded by the Welsh Government), it’s no surprise that people wanting to help feel somewhat powerless. A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Wales is first in the UK for household recycling and we’ve provided local authorities with more than £20m over the last three years to push recycling rates up even further. “We’ll also be investing £6.5m next year to help industry develop new infrastructure to reprocess waste.

“We will consult later this year on plans to increase recycling by businesses and public sector bodies, which will help achieve our ultimate aim of becoming a zero waste nation by 2050.”

Charity WRAP Cymru, which works with the Government to deliver its policies on waste prevention and resource efficiency, said customers can use their Recycle for Wales campaign to understand more about what they can/can’t recycle and can search for what can be recycled in their specific area using the postcode locator.

What about packaging? Does making the signs and symbols more understandable help?

Sian Conway, founder of Ethical Hour, said that if people understood what symbols on packaging meant, they could do more.

She said: “Usually with a little more effort you can recycle a lot more – take plastic bags back to the supermarket, for example, [as] they can’t go in your blue bin. Most bathroom bottles can be, although only around 50% are – the key is to understand the symbols.

“What most people don’t realise is that many of the symbols don’t necessarily mean it can be recycled.

“The symbol sometimes tells you the percentage of recycled material in the product, and although it can be recycled not all collection systems will accept.”

But Mary Creagh MP, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said there should be a drive towards making packaging clearer in the first place – and companies which make it hard to recycle items should be penalised.

“The problem of disposable coffee cups has been a wake-up call for the public, and polls show that they are happy to use more sustainable alternatives,” she said.

“Companies must label packaging clearly so consumers know whether it can be recycled. Ministers need a strategy which encourages companies to produce packaging that is easy to recycle, and which penalises companies who produce hard-to-recycle packaging.”