recycling
Let's get the most out of our rubbish
The world has been manufacturing plastics since the 1930's. But less than 5% of these materials have been incinerated, and that means the rest are still somewhere on the planet. No matter how many times we attempt to reuse conventional plastic it does not go away. Nearly all (over 96%) of the 2.5 million tonnes of household plastics that the UK uses each year ends up in landfill, and it will be many decades before it begins to break down.
In 2001, 579,000 tonnes of plastics were used in the UK grocery industry, of which two thirds could be identified as going direct to landfill. Less than 2% of this total was recycled.
Most packaging can be recycled, some more easily than others. However, taking all energy and material uses into account, recycling alone is not always the best solution. For example, the process of collecting, cleaning and reusing/ recycling can use more resources than starting from scratch with new materials.
Hygiene requirements often restrict the use of recycled paper and plastic materials that come into direct contact with food (recycled glass and metal can be used because the recycling process heats them to a high enough temperature to ensure that no contamination is present in the recycled material).
Also, recycled packaging materials must be able to meet performance standards, and protect the product, in the same way as virgin materials.
What we do
The Co-operative is in favour of recycling, and encourages and helps to facilitate the recycling of packaging used for our own brand products - providing that it saves resources, cuts pollution and is economic. Where space on pack permits, The Co-operative brand packaging is labelled to indicate what materials the packaging is made from, this helps consumers to recycle through normal segregated recycling channels.
It is estimated that the average life of a single giveaway carrier bag is only 3 minutes before being discarded. Indeed, the UK grocery industry use enough carrier bags to carpet the entire planet twice a year (source IGD), and according to Government figures, each person on average uses 134 bags a year which in England is equivalent to 323 bags per household.
We already offer a 'Bag for Life' to our customers. This route is not the answer on its own, but a single 'Bag for Life' can save up to 35 giveaway carrier bags.
Safety First! to avoid danger of suffocation keep away from babies and young children.
Please make sure you dispose of the bags properly.