The short answer is yes, but it is complicated. Our recycling expert, Helen Bird, explains.
You can recycle plastic bags and wrapping at supermarkets
Most of the big supermarkets are signed up to The UK Plastics Pact – a voluntary agreement to eliminate all problematic and unnecessary plastic and make all plastic packaging recyclable.
For something to be recyclable, it requires it to be designed for recycling, but it also needs to be collected and recycled. In a few years – by 2028 – regulations will mean that local authorities will collect all types of plastic packaging. This will include bottles, pots, tubs, trays, bags and wrapping.
In the meantime, many supermarkets have stepped up to provide an interim collection solution, as well as continuing to redesign the packaging. These collection points, used by many people, are helping to stimulate the recycling system as was intended.
What happens to the plastic once collected?
As material is collected in a steady stream, the industry has responded by building infrastructure to process it, as well as finding the products and packaging that it can be recycled into.
Ideally the packaging would be recycled back into packaging, but owing to important food safety regulations this isn’t always possible. Advanced recycling is needed to do this, and while the technology is proven and facilities are being built, it is not widespread. Recycling into products, such as refuse sacks, is still valid and important.
Examples of what recycled bags and wrapping is turned into include:
Heinz Beans ‘Snap Pots’ packaging
Cadbury Dairy Milk packaging
Kingsmill 50/50 Bread packaging
Nestle’s Kit Kat packaging
Street furniture
Bags-for-life
Refuse sacks.
It’s not a perfect system, and right now, not everything is always recycled. This is because some types of plastics are more difficult to recycle and the market for recycled plastics is not stable.
Much of this material, around half of all plastic packaging, is exported for recycling and while most operators are reputable and are genuinely recycling, transparency is lacking and there are still too many instances of illegal dumping of waste.
It's important for us to keep recycling our bags and wrapping
But does this mean that taking bags and wrapping is a waste of time? No.
If one thing is for certain, if plastic bags and wrapping are not placed in the recycling, they will not get recycled. So by continuing to recycle as much as you can, and make use of supermarket recycling points, you're doing your bit to help advance and improve recycling.
