Everyone can now recycle soft plastics, like crisp packets and bread bags
Background:
Co-op is committed to making it easier for consumers to make small changes to their everyday lives, that can make a difference to our natural environment.
With the lack of a UK recycling solution, and with UK-wide kerbside collection not yet in place, Co-op believed it was the right thing to do to introduce soft plastic collection points in communities to increase recyclability, reduce litter and reduce the volume of soft plastic going to landfill.
Customers are encouraged to bring their soft plastics to our collection units at the front of our stores, where it is collected and combined with soft plastics from our back of store operations. The mixture is a combination of jazz low density polyethylene (mixed colours), clear low-density polyethylene and rigid Polyethylene terephthalate and fines (non-target materials).
This is then sent to our regional depots, where it is compressed into bales and transported to our UK recycling partner, Jayplas, who sort and process the materials.
No soft plastics collected in Co-op are exported outside of the UK and none goes to landfill or for incineration without energy recovery.
How much soft plastic do you collect in store?
Co-op accepts soft plastic from shoppers in the vast majority of its 2,400 convenience stores and from H2 2023 to H1 2024 our UK recycling partner processed approximately 2,200* tonnes of mixed soft plastic from Co-op’s front of store and back of store operations (3,353* tonnes of material including unrecyclable material and contaminants)
What happens to the soft plastics you collect in store?
The front and back of store soft plastics are sent to one of our depots, where the materials are baled and then processed by our UK-based recycling partner. The partner uses infrared sorting technology to separate the different types of soft plastics to recycle here in the UK.
What percentage of the soft plastics you collect is actually recycled in a closed loop, how much ends up being downcycled and how much ends up being burnt for energy recovery or disposed of (either incinerated or landfill)?
No soft plastics collected by Co-op is sent to landfill or incinerated without energy recovery.
No soft plastics collected by Co-op is exported.
Around two-thirds of material is recycled or upcycled. Currently, 5% of the soft plastic we collect is ‘closed loop’ and recycled back into thermoforming film, 61% is upcycled and made into bags and sacks.
A challenge is the volume of unrecyclable and contaminated material which is returned and placed in the in-store recycling units by consumers, including food waste, cigarette packets and other non-target material, which means that the remaining 34% is unrecyclable and is burnt for energy recovery.
We’re actively working to reduce the percentage of unrecyclable materials collected although customer messaging to build further understanding of what is in scope for soft plastic collection.
Of the soft plastic that is recycled how much is closed loop and how much is mechanically recycled (which is delaying and not avoiding final disposal)?
As above
How much of the soft plastics that you collect are exported?
0%
For further information you can email Kathryn Uren (Engagement Co-ordinator) kathryn.uren@coop.co.uk
Comments