Hovis sets up recycling scheme for bread bags

HOVIS is setting up a collection and recycling system for plastic bread bags in a further attack on waste and pollution.

The bags will be shredded and converted into plastic pellets or flakes, before being used to make products such as public benches and outdoor furniture.

The fact Hovis has found it necessary to launch the scheme highlights the weakness of Britain’s rubbish collection and recycling system.

Each local council operates its own regime and decides which products it will accept. The result is that families are confused about what to put in the recycling and many items end up in general waste which is burned or put in landfill.

In theory, plastic bread bags can be recycled, yet only one in ten local councils currently accepts them.

The Hovis scheme is a partnership with recycling organisation TerraCycle which will pick up the bags from collection points such as schools.

Laure Cucuron of TerraCycle Europe said: ‘Bread is a product that is consumed by many families on a daily basis so there is significant scope to alter consumer behaviour.’

The bread bag collections mirror similar scheme for crisp packets, biscuit wrappers and plastic coffee pods.