Tesco announcement of removal of hard to recycle plastics is the way forward
May 29, 2018
Vanden Recycling has welcomed Tesco's announcement that it has notified its suppliers that it will remove hard to recycle materials from its products sold in its stores by 2019.
Tesco said last week that it has briefed its suppliers to remove hard to recycle materials including PVC, polystyrene, oxy degradable materials, PLA (polylactic acid), water soluble bio plastics and industrial compostable.
It is also consulting on removing black plastic and polypropylene for certain food applications among others.
Tesco has also listed materials it will accept including PET, HDPE, LDPE and polypropylene for non-food applications.
The supermarket also called on the Government to help develop the infrastructure required for a closed loop recycling system.
Vanden Recycling UK managing director David Wilson said: "I am very pleased to see Tesco are taking this approach by informing suppliers it wants to remove difficult to recycle plastics from its products.
"The way Tesco has divided plastics into three groups it wants to ban, consult on or allow gives real direction. By putting all bioplastics into ban or consult is the right move as these contaminate plastic recycling, tend to require industrial composting to break down and should not be seen as a sustainable alternative.
"We agree with Tesco that the Government should help all parts of the supply chain develop a closed loop recycling system and enable the consistent infrastructure to be put in place for that to happen.
"Tesco is taking a real lead here, and if other supermarkets follow its example, we will see a simpler and better closed loop recycling system for plastics. This will make it easier for consumers to understand what can and can't be recycled, and develop sustainable markets for recycled content."
