Co-op launches “Europe’s most extensive” in-store recycling scheme for plastic packaging and bags

09 Jul 2021 --- Co-op is launching “Europe’s most extensive” in-store recycling scheme for plastic bags, chip packets and food wrappings. The convenience retailer claims the scheme will make it the first UK supermarket to have fully recyclable food packaging by the end of July.

The move is an effort to unify recycling systems and help tackle the “confusing postcode lottery” of curbside collections in the UK. The launch follows a 50 store film collection trial last year, revealing 86 percent of shoppers were likely to use the service. 

A Co-op spokesperson tells PackagingInsights the company has been working to overcome practical issues implementing the scheme.

“We needed to make sure our backhaul process would work effectively. Also, as Co-op operates smaller convenience stores, another challenge was ensuring we could fit the recycling units in-store and finding a way to effectively communicate the breadth of plastic types covered to customers in a simple and easy to understand way.”

A plastic collection point in a Co-op store.Nationwide recycling routes
Recycling units for flexible plastics will launch in 1,500 Co-op stores throughout July and 2,300 stores by November. 

The initiative aims to ensure all of the retailer’s food packing is easily recyclable by establishing an accessible disposal route for materials largely uncatered for by UK councils. These include potato chip packets, bread bags, single-use carrier bags and bags-for-life, lids from ready meals and yogurt pots, biscuit wrappers and pet food pouches.

Co-op estimates that 300 metric tons of plastic bags and food wrapping could be collected per year once the scheme is fully operational.

Reassurance and education
Co-op says the scheme is also designed to reassure concerned communities that the plastics collected will be recycled in the UK. Recently, a Greenpeace investigation discovered that 30 percent of UK waste was exported and dumped in Turkey last year. 

After collection, the recyclable materials will be converted by UK organization Jayplas into post-consumer plastic granules for manufacturing new products. These products will include bin liners, rigid products such as buckets, and materials for the construction industry. The process will divert waste from landfill, incineration or exports.

In some areas, less than 30 percent of waste from households is currently recycled, with systems varying from council to council, adding to the confusion. Estimates from WRAP suggest that just 6 percent of plastic bags and wrapping from UK households are recycled each year, while it makes up around a fifth of all plastic packaging by weight. 

Appetite for change
Eliminating unnecessary plastics is balanced against the need to minimize food waste, says the company. Plastic packaging is currently an essential material in preserving shelf life and avoiding any increase in the already massive amounts of food wasted each year and associated carbon emissions. 

“As we face an environmental crisis, we know from our feedback there is a universal appetite for change, which is why we are making it easier for thousands of households to recycle all of their plastic food packaging,” says Jo Whitfield, Co-op food CEO.

Co-op says the scheme will help achieve the UK Plastics Pact goal of full recyclability for all packaging by 2025. Helen Bird, strategic technical manager from UK circle economy organization WRAP, comments that the scheme will also complement the UK Plastics Pact, which aims to ensure all UK plastic packaging is recyclable by 2025. 

“There’s no doubt unnecessary plastic needs to be reduced, including bags and wrapping, which is a fifth of all consumer plastic packaging. However, where it is necessary, it is urgent to design it for recycling and ensure recycling systems are in place.”

The roll-out will also be supported by a nationwide, multi-channel media marketing campaign – as part of a new partnership with national television channel ITV.

Driving plastic reduction
The scheme joins a range of actions taken by UK retailers in recent months to tackle plastic pollution and boost recycling rates. 

In May, Co-op unveiled its new ten-point climate plan, which sets out a blueprint for the retailer to achieve net-zero for its direct and indirect carbon emissions by 2040, including offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions of its products and services.

In similar developments, Unilever expanded its refillable packaging trials across the UK in June, including a first “return on the go” refill trial, in selected Asda supermarket and Co-op stores. The FMCG giant’s household brands Persil, Simple, Radox and Alberto Balsam will be available in reusable stainless-steel bottles in selected Asda and Co-op stores by the end of 2021.

Sainsbury’s also began trialing a local recycling system for flexible plastics to make recycling easier for its customers. Polypropylene packaging, such as salad and frozen food bags, will be disposable at all of its UK stores by the end of 2021. 

By Louis Gore-Langton