Tesco supermarket launches UK-wide soft plastic recycling points as consumers back convenient circularity

24 Aug 2021 --- Supermarket giant Tesco is rolling out soft plastic collection points at every large UK store after a successful 171-store trial earlier this year in Wales and the South West, in which close to a metric ton of soft plastic was collected every day. 

Soft plastics – also known as flexible plastics – are not commonly collected by local UK councils for recycling and often discarded. With nationwide accessibility, Tesco expects to collect and recycle 1000 metric tons of soft plastic annually.

“As much of this material as possible” will be recycled back into products and packaging sold in Tesco stores, the supermarket indicates.

“Overwhelming” customer support
The national rollout was brought forward by Tesco in response to “overwhelming customer support” during the 171-store trial. Some 85 percent of customers said the scheme helped them recycle more than they would have done otherwise. Customers also reported liking the convenience of being able to combine recycling with their shopping.

The collection points will allow customers to return all their previously unrecycled soft plastic, such as the clear film used to wrap meat and fish, crisp packets, fruit and veg bags and sweet wrappers, rather than having to throw it away.

The most common items to be returned during the trial were:

• Bread bags
• Fruit and vegetable packaging
• Crisp packets
• Salad bags

“We’re tackling the impact of plastics by removing and reducing it as much as possible, helping customers move to reusable alternatives, and ensuring they can recycle everything that’s left,” outlines Sarah Bradbury, Tesco’s director of quality.With the UK-wide rollout, Tesco expects to collect and recycle 1000 metric tons of soft plastic annually.

Marcus Gover, WRAP CEO, adds: “Tackling plastic bags and wrapping is the UK Plastics Pact’s number one priority, and increasing front of store collection points is a great step forward.”

“As little as 6 percent of this problematic plastic is collected and recycled in the UK, despite making up nearly a quarter of all plastic packaging by weight.”

“By offering shoppers a simple and consistent collections system, Tesco is helping to ensure that much more of this problem plastic is captured and goes on to be recycled. I welcome this move which will help considerably toward the UK Plastics Pact’s target of increasing plastic recycling.”

The recycling process
Once collected by Tesco, the soft plastic is sent for recycling, where it is washed, sorted and “as much of the material as possible” recycled into new products and packaging.

Tesco directs the collected material between recyclers, packaging producers and suppliers, keeping the collected material out of landfill.According to WRAP, only 6% of soft plastic is collected and recycled in the UK.

In a recent sample, Tesco recovered over 80 percent of the soft plastic returned by customers. It is now working with recyclers to explore what can be done with the remaining 20 percent, which is currently sent for energy recovery. 

The 4Rs
Tesco says it has made significant progress in addressing the impact of plastic waste through its 4Rs strategy: Remove, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Within this framework, Tesco prioritizes using less plastic ahead of recycling. Tesco hit its 2020 target to remove a billion pieces of plastic, will remove a further half a billion pieces this year and has also reduced the size of packaging by 2000 metric tons a year.

The supermarket has also made significant steps to using more reusable packaging through its nationwide partnership with TerraCycle’s Loop, recently debuted recyclable potato packaging, and scrapped plastic rings and shrink wrap packaging from all beers and ciders in its UK stores.

In related news, Co-op recently launched “Europe’s most extensive” in-store recycling scheme for plastic bags, chip packets and food wrappings.

Edited by Joshua Poole