Question:
In accordance with the Rother website we have been recycling plastic coverings to fruit and vegetable packaging. In recent weeks an increasing number of these have carried the message “ RECYCLE at store Don’t recycle at home”. Others say “Recycle at large supermarkets”
Should we ignore these messages and continue to use Rother recycling?
Answer:
Our household recycling in Rother allows this type of plastic packaging to be recycled whereas within other areas of the country they may not be able to take this form of plastic packaging hence the labelling from the supermarket. In the relatively recent Environmental Bill 2019 the Government set out aims to standardise packaging and incentivise producers to use more recycling friendly packaging with clearer labelling on how it can be recycled. This all comes under their extended producer responsibility initiative (EPR) Extended Producer Responsibility (packagingregs.co.uk)
The plastics that cannot be recycled are as follows:
- Hard Plastics usually type 7 these are rigid and shatter. i.e rulers, cd cases etc
- Polystyrene type 6, this is also not recyclable and must go in the waste bin.
Plastics bonded with another material usually aluminium i.e crisp packets
