HomeWorldEnvironmentMajor supermarkets accused of misleading shoppers over recycling schemes — AirTags in soft plastic reveal that 70% of bundles reaching a known destination were burnt, not recycled
Major supermarkets accused of misleading shoppers over recycling schemes — AirTags in soft plastic reveal that 70% of bundles reaching a known destination were burnt, not recycled
October 1, 2024
Major supermarkets accused of misleading shoppers over recycling schemes — AirTags in soft plastic reveal that 70% of bundles reaching a known destination were burnt, not recycled
*The Everyday Plastic campaign group and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA UK) tracked 40 bundles of soft plastic waste – such as single-use bags, films and wrapping – through supermarket take-back schemes across England.**
*Tesco and Sainsbury’s are among the major UK supermarkets to have set up front-of-store collection points in recent years in a bid to tackle plastic waste footprints.*
*Shoppers can drop off soft plastic packaging – which cannot currently be recycled through kerbside collections – at the stores so they can be recycled by the retail giants instead.*
*• None of the soft plastics bundles placed in front- of-store collection points were closed-loop recycled.*
*• 70% of the soft plastic that reached a known final waste facility destination was burnt^6 not recycled.^7*
*• The rest ended up at recycling facilities that downcycle soft plastic waste into lower value products (such as bin bags, carrier bags and composite timber boards) – 80% of which were sent to recycling facilities abroad, the majority to Türkiye.*
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Excerpts from [article](https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/tesco-sainsbury-recycling-bags-burned-b2621769.html) by Rebecca Speare-Cole:
*The Everyday Plastic campaign group and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA UK) tracked 40 bundles of soft plastic waste – such as single-use bags, films and wrapping – through supermarket take-back schemes across England.**
*Tesco and Sainsbury’s are among the major UK supermarkets to have set up front-of-store collection points in recent years in a bid to tackle plastic waste footprints.*
*Shoppers can drop off soft plastic packaging – which cannot currently be recycled through kerbside collections – at the stores so they can be recycled by the retail giants instead.*
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*Of the trackers whose final destination they were able to ascertain, Everyday Plastic [report](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a899f44b1ffb63e0c81fed9/t/66faf74c0daeed492ecfa027/1727723341495/The+Hard+Truth+About+Soft+Plastic+%E2%80%93+Summary.pdf):
*• None of the soft plastics bundles placed in front- of-store collection points were closed-loop recycled.*
*• 70% of the soft plastic that reached a known final waste facility destination was burnt^6 not recycled.^7*
*• The rest ended up at recycling facilities that downcycle soft plastic waste into lower value products (such as bin bags, carrier bags and composite timber boards) – 80% of which were sent to recycling facilities abroad, the majority to Türkiye.*