Chocolate and crisp wrappers are the ‘ worst food packets for recycling’

CRISPS and chocolate lovers are snacking on treats that have the worst record for recycled packaging.

An investigation into 89 bestselling branded groceries, including Cadbury and Pringles, found only a third had wrappers that were fully recyclable in household collections.

Four in 10 items had no labelling to show if they could be recycled, leaving consumers unaware about how to correctly dispose of them.

Consumer group Which? analysed popular lines in chocolate, fizzy drinks, crisps, yogurts, drinks, cheese, bread loaves and cereals to find whether each component of its packaging could be recycled.

Crisps were worst with only three per cent recyclable. Pringles’ plastic lid made it the only product in the category to have at least one part that was recyclable – although it was not labelled as such.

Natalie Hitchins, of Which?, said: “Consumers are crying out for brands that take sustainability seriously and products that are easy to recycle, but for any real difference to be made to the

Pringles lid can be recycled but the tube is poorly labelled environment, manufacturers need to maximise their use of recyclable and recycled materials and ensure products are correctly labelled.”

Which? looked at cheese packaging and found that a third was not easily recycled. Cathedral City and Babybel cheese were in plastic net bags, which were not only difficult to recycle but could cause problems if caught in recycling machinery.

Four- finger KitKats, Cadbury Bitsa Wispa, M& Ms, Cadbury Dairy Milk bars and Cadbury Twirl Bites packaging could not to be put in household recycling.

None of the bread packaging Which? studied was recyclable in household collections but could be taken to retailer collection points.

The fizzy drinks category came out on top for recyclability with correct labelling across the brands.

In a separate survey, Which? found the recyclability of grocery packaging was important to eight in 10 people. Twothirds often or always looked for recycling information on grocery packaging before deciding how to dispose of it.