26 October 2007
The UK will miss its recycling targets unless supermarkets slash their packaging, town hall leaders warned this week.
New research from the Local Government Association published on October 23 revealed that up to 40% of the packaging of a regular household shopping basket cannot be recycled.
The LGA commissioned the British Market Research Bureau to buy a selection of common food items from different types of retailer, including six supermarkets, a range of local high-street shops and a large market. They evaluated both the weight of packaging and the proportion that could be recycled.
Supermarkets compared poorly with independent and market retailers, where almost 80% of the packaging used could be recycled. Of the supermarkets, Marks & Spencer had the lowest level of green packaging (60%) and Lidl the heaviest. Asda was the best performer, with 70% of its relatively lightweight packing recyclable.
Under the terms of the European Union's landfill directive, Britain has to reduce the amount of biodegradable household waste sent to landfill to 75% of 1995 levels by 2010 and to 35% by 2020.
Paul Bettison, chair of the LGA's environment board, said: 'People are working hard to increase their recycling rates, but their efforts are being hamstrung by needlessly overpackaged products.'
But a spokesman for the British Retail Consortium told Public Finance that just 3% of landfill waste was packaging. 'It's nonsense to suggest retailers are swathing their products in unnecessary packaging,' he said.
'The most important contribution that local authorities can make to increase recycling rates is to standardise… which materials can be recycled.'
PFoct2007
