In an ideal world we would be feasting on garden-grown veg, homemade pittas, weekly batches of home-baked biscuits and my kids wouldn't eat crisps. Separate research from the Flexible Packaging Consortiumrevealed that some 215 billion pieces of flexible plastic packaging are placed on the UK market every year and that almost all of this material is sent to landfill or incineration. packets This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. They all rank among the top 10 worst plastic polluters globally, with PepsiCo alone generating a staggering 2.3 million tonnes of plastic waste a year. It follows a call from resources charity WRAP last month, urging more supermarkets to collect all types of plastic bags and wrapping for sorting and recycling. Sainsburys has also been announced as the principal supermarket partner for the United Nations international climate change conference, COP26, which takes place this November in Glasgow. None of my local stores have any publicity about this new scheme and all that has been done is for small signs to be added to their very small bins that normally take plastic bags for recycling which are always full! We need a fundamental shake up, the amount of plastic on their shelves drastically reduced and innovative reuse models introduced that allow packaging to stay out of the environment, and in a loop where it is used, washed and refilled again, said Schrank. This is where the new scheme steps in. Sainsburys told Green Retail World at the time of the trial that the plastic is sorted and recycled into pellets for use in injection moulded applications for manufacturing items such as dustpans, buckets and flower pots. UK grocer Sainsburys has announced 520 of its stores across the UK will now offer a flexible plastic packaging recycling scheme. A weekly roundup of the latest news and analysis, sent every Friday. It also uses Hotjar to collect anonymous information about how you navigate and interact with the site. Sainsburys has yet to confirm where the plastic will be recycled for the wider scheme. Hard-to-recycle flexible plastic packaging such as film is not currently collected by most councils in the UK, with just 6% of it recycled, despite it comprising a fifth of all plastic packaging put on the market. London SE1 0AX, Environment Media Group Ltd 2022. alliance clariant joins circular plastics roundup aldi straws remove weekly plastic eu sainsbury Tagged Flexible Plastic Recycling, packaging, plastic, Sainsburys, Climate Change / Legislation / Local Authority, Circular is the sustainability media brand brought to you by CIWM, CIWM empowers professionalism across the resources sector, Got a story for us? Last month, Sainsburys joined the Flexible Plastic Fund, an initiative that aims to fully recycle flexible plastics. 2022 The Institution of Engineering and Technology. For the initial trial, Sainsburys partnered with Leicestershire-based Eurokey Recycling, which will mechanically recycle all polyethylene (PE) and PP film from Sainsburys front of store collections from customers and back of store operations. plastic circular proves collaboration sustainable economy supermarkets petition This is an excellent opportunity for candidates who have practical industrial, consultancy or regulatory experience; who can apply their expertise in a pro-active regulatory role. Faversham House Ltd 2022 edie news articles may be copied or forwarded for individual use only. WRAP estimates that flexible film accounted for 290,000t of plastic packaging waste in 2019. Sainsburys, as the first retailer to make a commitment to halve its use of plastic packaging by 2025, has also led the way with the removal of single use plastic bags from loose produce, 70% reduction of plastic in its Taste the Difference and SO Organic lamb and steak packaging and removed over 297 tonnes of waste plastic by working with Prevented Ocean Plastic to repurpose plastic collected from the coast into packaging for its strawberry and fresh fish ranges. The packaging recycling scheme enables consumers to deposit items such as used crisp packets, food pouches, salad bags and biscuit and cake wrappers in bins based within Sainsburys stores. They had absolutely no clue, even though there was a sign in front of their noses saying that they were part of the scheme. Making recycling easier for our customers is a key part of our strategy to minimise the impact of single-use plastics on the environment, alongside our own ambitious target of reducing the use of plastics in our own operations by 50% by 2025.. The retailer has also been announced as the Principal Supermarket Partner for the United Nations international climate change conference, COP26, due to take place in November. Reducing food waste in the hospitality sector. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Earlier this year, Greenpeace found plastic waste from UK retailers dumped, burned, piled up and left to spill into the sea in Turkey. Claire Hughes, director of product and innovation at Sainsburys, said: Were really excited to announce the mass rollout of the Flexible Plastics Recycling scheme in over 520 of our stores, helping our customers to recycle more of their plastic packaging, instead of it ending up as waste. Eurokey is in the process of appealing an administrative proceeding from the local Environmental Protection Agency regarding the order to remove waste from sites not intended for their storage. When approached by ENDS, Sainsburys declined to provide details of the tonneages involved and where the material - which is often highly contaminated - was likely to end up. According to a Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) report from last December, 83% of UK local authorities do not accept these types of packaging for recycling. None of Sainsburys flexible plastic recycled in the UK, it claimed, which act as proof that material has been properly recycled, ", have previously found Tesco-branded wrappers at illegal dump sites, Biodegradable silk process developed to replace microplastics, UK bins 100bn pieces of plastic annually amid calls to ban waste exports, Retailer warns of emissions caused by shipping air to UK homes, Plans for UK's first Plastic Park approved, Compostable crop sensors aiming to keep fields green, Communications & Networks Engineers, Architects & Development Researchers, Wireless Product Engineer (Physics, Maths, CompSci and EEE Graduates), AI-based waste-sorting system wins Young Inventors prize, MP who chairs plastic packaging lobbying group faces conflict of interest allegations, Severe disruption to rail services as drivers continue strike action, The road to smart homes starts with smart EV charging, 3m tree-planting package for London announced to combat climate change, UK households facing most expensive winter in history, Nasa to switch rovers for helicopters in Mars sample recovery mission, Jurassic marine world fossils unearthed in farmers field, Inefficient building electrification risks prolonging fossil fuel use, study finds, Stamp-sized ultrasound stickers can see inside the body, Paper battery could power disposable electronics, Scientists warn against using drone footage for environment monitoring. One of these items made it to an industrial zone nearAdana in Southeast Turkey just miles from where activists and journalists in Adanahave previously found Tesco-branded wrappers at illegal dump sites. While there are requirements that the material should then be recycled to an equivalent standard to the UK, it is very difficult to check, he added. The major supermarkets and the manufacturers (Purina for example) and Terracycle boast of their green credentials and claim that they operate recycling schemes for pet food pouches. This site uses cookies. Most employees at Bishop Auckland are not aware you do this type of recycling in-house. There is one danger with this, and it's a big one. It took me ages to find any details but heres a link which opens a pdf with all the stores offering plastic collection The move comes after the retailer completed a successful trial, which started in the north-east of England in February. Green Chancellors and nature spending tests: What would net-zero and climate policy look like under Labour? Please login or Register to leave a comment. It is still keeping its cards close to its chest regarding the compliance and recycling partners involved in the programme. According to the retailer, the expanded initiative has the potential to significantly decrease the amount of plastic packaging going to landfill. In February, the retailer announced plans to launch a film recycling system as part of its sustainability commitment. Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences! I know it's not the whole answer, but I will be supporting the scheme as it will only work if we use it. The companys director of product and innovation Claire Hughes said: Were really excited to announce the mass rollout of the Flexible Plastics Recycling scheme in over 520 of our stores, helping our customers to recycle more of their plastic packaging, instead of it ending up as waste. I consent to GlobalData UK Limited collecting my details provided via this form in accordance with the, Introducing the Excellence Awards & Rankings 2022, Future-proofing food processing and packaging, The future of packaging from linear to circular, Packaging Industry Mergers and Acquisitions Deals by Top Themes in Q2 2022 Thematic Research. It cited a report from waste prevention charity Wrap, which estimated flexible film contributed towards 290,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste in 2019. In its suspension notice, the Environment Agency (EA) said for at least four months last year Eurokey had exported plastic waste to Turkish sites that were not authorised to process the material. All such information remains confidential and we use only to determine which pages are popular with readers. We use cookies to give you the best experience and to learn about your use of our site for advertising and analytics purposes. The Governments COP26 unit had alreadyconfirmed Sky as principal mediapartner and appointeda string of other commercial partnersincluding SSE, National Grid, ScottishPower and NatWest. buxton Stay ahead of the curve with sustainability and energy newsletters from edie, Windsor CourtWood StEast GrinsteadRH19 1UZ, Share Sainsburys rolls out flexible plastic recycling scheme nationwide from edie on Facebook, Share Sainsburys rolls out flexible plastic recycling scheme nationwide from edie on Twitter, Share Sainsburys rolls out flexible plastic recycling scheme nationwide from edie on LinkedIn, Share Sainsburys rolls out flexible plastic recycling scheme nationwide from edie via Email, collecting hard-to-recycle flexible plastic film at 63 of its stores, research from the Flexible Packaging Consortium. The introduction of the new, market-leading recycling system by Sainsburys is the latest move in the retailers initiative to reduce, reuse, replace and recycle plastic in its own operations while continuing to make it easier for customers to recycle. The firm Sainsburys has contracted to recycle the material, Eurokey Recycling, opened a facility in Zielona Gra in 2016, where according to press reports, residents have complained about insects, rats, mess and stench. Our address is: letsrecycle.com, The supermarket said the front of store recycling points will make it easier than ever for customers to make more sustainable choices by offering a trustworthy recycling system where they can correctly dispose of flexible plastic packaging. Earlier this year, the company started collecting hard-to-recycle flexible plastic film at 63 of its stores as part of the trial. Tesco said the soft plastic collected in its stores was currently being recycled into bin liners at a recycling facility in Derbyshire but Nina Schrank, senior plastics campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said supermarkets were still producing far too much plastic. Company registration number 03959158. After sorting the material, Eurokey says it either sells the graded material directly to processors for use in recycled products or it works with partners across Europe for further processing into plastic pellets which can be sold for use in a range of products. The news follows the announcement in May that Sainsburys joined the Flexible Plastic Fund, which was launched last month by compliance scheme Ecosurety. Conor McGlone investigates, Get more great articles like this straight to your inbox. Action inspires action. The chain added that this is the latest move in its aim to reduce, reuse, replace and recycle plastic in its own operations while continuing to make it easier for customers to recycle. The scheme could become a licence for us and for the big brands to go on using more and more plastic packaging, reassuring ourselves that 'it's okay, it'll be recycled'. Waitrose is running a trial across 37 stores. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. But Turkey can't cope. The scheme enabled customers in the North East of England to recycle polypropylene (PP) film, which is found on many popular supermarket items but is not recycled at kerbside by most local authorities in England. Currently, just 17% of UK local authorities collect the problem material for recycling. Available to watch on-demand: edies Climate Finance Week online events, Tesco removes plastic wrapping from soft drinks multipacks, Tesco ends trials of refillable products through TerraCycles Loop platform. E&T revealed in February that the firm in question, Eurokey, had its exportaccreditation suspendedlast year after mislabelling the type of plastic it exported to Turkey. Aldi supermarket has also begun a trial to roll out soft plastic collection points in select stores in the UK (see letsrecycle.com story). The Institution of Engineering and Technology is registered as a Charity in England & Wales (no 211014) and Scotland (no SC038698). They always say NO until I persuade them otherwise and they have to ring for other staff. Salad bags, biscuit wrappers, plastic lids from fish trays and strawberry boxes, cheese wrap. Doesnt tell me if my store has this facility. Claire Hughes, Director of Product and Innovation at Sainsburys, said:Were really excited to announce the mass rollout of the Flexible Plastics Recycling scheme in over 520 of our stores, helping our customers to recycle more of their plastic packaging, instead of it ending up as waste. I am more sceptical when it comes to the big brands involved in the fund. Find out more about our weekly bulletins, Discover all ENDS content in one place, including legislation summaries to keep up to date with compliance deadlines, Plan ahead with our Calendar feature highlighting upcoming compliance deadlines, Power List 2022: the UK's 100 most influential environmental professionals, London among world cities facing threat of severe drought, Biodiversity net gain exemptions should be limited, says lawyers group, Ignoring climate policy in Norfolk transport plan was unlawful, 'Wonder weevils' released in fight against invasive species. supermarkets The UK produces over 300,000 tonnes of this waste a year, but only recycles 6% of it. The top stories of the day delivered to you every weekday. Tick the boxes of the newsletters you would like to receive. Flexible plastic comprises of a fifth of all UK citizen plastic packaging, but only 6% is currently collected for recycling. A complete joke! Sainsburys has now confirmed that all its front of store flexible plastic is currently recycled in Europe. hafod sainsbury facilities supermarkets Is the waste going to be recycled or is it going to end up polluting a river or a beach somewhere? Speaking in front of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee, Jacob Hayler, executive director of the Environmental Services Association (ESA) said firms do not have to pre-notify the EA about where they are exporting waste making it very challenging for them to be able to regulate that appropriately. supermarket As for me, I decided to celebrate the launch of the scheme by clearing out my hoard of plastic bags which built up over lockdown, as shown on this page. Eurokey says it aims to enable closed looped systems where waste produce can be recycled and placed back in the market where it originated. Very frustrating. The initiative is being championed by resources charity WRAP. Crucially, the fund is designed to stimulate recycling right here in the UK. schemes compare So I was excited to see that Sainsbury's has launched a new recycling scheme for flexible plastic packaging in 520 of its stores (including here in Bishop's Stortford).