The Dirty Dozen: DS Smith exposes most contaminating items for paper recycling

18 Mar 2022 --- New research from DS Smith exposes the “Dirty Dozen” – the top 12 items contaminating mixed or paper recycling streams due to plastic and food presence. The most commonly recycled culprits include junk mail, food trays and pulp fruit trays.

The research also shows that over a third (36%) of UK consumers don’t believe their recycling impacts the environment. This “Dirty Dozen” results in an average of 391 million bin bags worth of plastic waste being collected from one paper mill alone every year. 

DS Smith, which reportedly recycles up to a third of all paper in the UK, also found that almost half (48%) of consumers don’t think packaging in the UK is easily recyclable, with two thirds (67%) saying there is a lot of conflicting advice on recycling and a similar number (60%) saying that the disposal instructions on items are hard to find. 

The analysis was conducted at Kemsley mill, the largest recycled paper mill in the UK, in partnership with YouGov. The most common “Dirty Dozen” items put in the recycling bin are junk mail (72%), food trays (38%) and pulp fruit trays (28%) – with soup cartons (21%) and crisp tubes (18%) also making an appearance.

Paper recycling streams are commonly contaminated by consumers who do not understand the impact of certain items.Policy moves 
A DS Smith spokesperson tells PackagingInsights the findings should help policymakers in a number of ways – “firstly by restricting the use of composite or hard to recycle packaging through taxation and bans. We have seen this with the ban of certain single-use plastic items such as plastic straws and stirrers which can’t be recycled.”

“The proposed extended producer responsibility (EPR) system for the UK should bring in eco-modulation, making it more expensive to place hard to recycle packaging on the market,” they continue. 

“Also, harmonization and consistency in labeling and household recycling collections would go a long way to help confused consumers. Policymakers need to work toward one clear and consistent system that prioritizes material quality and ensures that packaging gets recycled.”

Contamination concerns 
The “Dirty Dozen” are the top 12 items contaminating UK recycling streams. They are:

1. Junk Mail: Plastic windows and the glue on junk mail create problems for mills.
2. Food trays: Cardboard food trays that you can put straight in the oven often contain lamination, which makes them difficult to break down in the paper-making process.
3. Pulp fruit trays often contain low-quality weak fibers, which means that they are not strong enough to be made into other paper packaging products.
4. Food cartons. The plastic layer that coats cardboard is difficult to break down and clings to the cardboard.
5. Crisp Tubes, otherwise known as composite packaging, contain over 50% of non-paper materials which are non-recyclable at mills.
6. Glittery gift wrap and greetings cards. Any gift wrap and cards that are wrapped in plastic or contain glitter or metal can cause damage to recycling machinery.
7. Padded envelopes. The high volume of plastic features in padded envelopes makes separating the cardboard and plastic elements difficult.
8. Sandwich wrappers. The plastic lamination on sandwich packaging (up to 20% of the wrapper) makes separating the cardboard and plastic elements difficult. Food contamination also lessens recycled material quality. 
9. Insulated food delivery packaging. Waterproof fiber packaging takes longer to break down and often contains plastic thermal layers, which cause contamination issues.
10. Coffee bags/pouches. Metal coatings on coffee bags can break into glitter-like parts, which causes contamination in the finished paper.
11. Wax/silicone paper (butter wrappers) coatings make it difficult for paper machines to access the recyclable fibers, and the ones retrieved are often low quality as a result.
12. Fast food soft drink cups: can often be double laminated, making it even more difficult for this to be broken down and the recyclable fibers to be retrieved.

The contamination cost
The spokesperson says DS Smith is committed to developing new packaging that replaces some of these hard to recycle items and has committed £100 million (US$131 million) to find more environmentally sustainable solutions.DS Smith is investing US$131 million into developing new, environmentally sustainable packaging solutions.

“We are collaborating with partners to develop innovative coatings and barriers and have prioritized replacing one billion pieces of plastic from supermarket shelves by 2025. We also actively engage with brand owners, industry associations and government to improve the recyclability of hard to recycle packaging wherever possible,” they say. 

Plastic and other contamination can cause significant challenges at paper mills, adding additional costs and waste to paper production. 

To help improve the quality of recycling in the UK, 50% of consumers said they would like to see clearer labeling on products in stores, one in two (49%) would like more fiber-based (cardboard/ paper) packaging options on supermarket shelves, and 40% would rather use multiple bins for different types of rubbish if it meant that more of their items could be recycled. 

By Louis Gore-Langton