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LGA report highlights level of packaging which cannot be recycled

A report from the Local Government Association (LGA) – War on Waste - has claimed that up to 38% of packaging in a regular shopping basket cannot be recycled. The association called on the government to make retailers responsible for funding council packaging waste collections, in order to reduce the amount that is put on the shelves.

The LGA commissioned the British Market Research Bureau to buy 29 common food items including fresh meat, milk, bread, cereal and fruit and vegetables, from eight retailers – Lidl, Marks and Spencer, Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, a local high street and a large market. The packaging from each was weighed, and the potential for each item to be recycled was measured (against  widely recognised recyclability standards).

The research found that Lidl was the supermarket with the heaviest packaging (813g), and that Lidl and Marks and Spencer had the lowest level of packaging which could be recycled (62%). Asda’s packaging weighed the least amongst the supermarkets – 646g, 69% of which was recyclable.

The survey also showed that 70% of the sample packaging from Sainsbury’s was recyclable, 67% of Morrison’s, and 65% of Tesco’s. The local market used the least amount of packaging – 617g, 76% of which was recyclable. The survey was previously carried out in October 2007, and it was shown that in that time the average weight of packaging had been reduced by 5%, with 2% more of it being recyclable.

Items which the survey felt had an unnecessary and excessive amount of packaging included fresh pizzas, with several layers of packaging contained within a box, and biscuits which often had a tray as well as a plastic tube.

The research concluded that there is a long way to go if we are to reduce packaging to a level which avoids additional landfill tax and EU fines. However, it did concede that the responsibility to recycle more waste lies with all of us – not just the retailers, and that some retailers were already working on positive environmental initiatives. The survey results have sparked a high amount of debate. Marks and Spencer have hit back, stating that an audit completed by Ernst and Young concluded that 91% of their food packaging was recyclable. They added that the sample of 29 items used in the research was not representative of their 5,500 product lines.

The British Retail Consortium commented that the real issue lies with the availability of recycling facilities across the UK, and called on councils to improve facilities and standardise the materials they accept, rather than shift the responsibility onto retailers. They also emphasised the important role which packaging plays in reducing food waste by protecting it from damage and deterioration.

The Packaging Federation said the report was “full of inconsistencies” and “utterly counter-productive” to genuine attempts to improve packaging recycling.

Recoup Senior Project Manager Stuart Foster added that: “We should recognise the work that retailers have done in reducing the amount of packaging used, and improving the amount that can be recycled. It would be unfair to penalise the retailers alone, as reducing the amount of packaging which ends up in landfill is the responsibility of everyone across the supply chain.

“However, there is still some way to go in improving the recyclability of packaging that is on our shelves today. In terms of plastics, Recoup have begun work on a second, updated, version of our publication Recyclability by Design (PDF, 1,34 MB, 16 p.) – the essential guide for anyone who wishes to build recyclability considerations into their plastic packaging.

The update is being developed by a wide range of international industry expert stakeholders, co-ordinated by Recoup, and funded by Reckitt Benckiser, and will be available towards the end of 2008.

” To download a free copy of the original Recyclability by Design please go to www.recoup.org  and follow the link on the left hand side.