Does the UK Recycle Packaging Less?

A new study by Which? has found that 32% of packaging in the UK is “not easily recyclable in practice”.

The study compared 11 household products across nine countries, finding that when it came to recyclability the UK fell behind Hong Kong, Portugal, Australia and India – but ahead of France, New Zealand, Malaysia and Brazil.

Recyclability was judged by whether each country had suitable and accessible collection, sorting and recycling systems, along with the quality of labelling on packaging.

The 11 household products judged are produced by eight of the largest global food and beverage companies – in terms of revenue – in 2020.

According to Which?, “in almost every case it was plastic packaging that could not be easily recyclable in practice”.

Lack of clarity in packaging labelling was highlighted as a key barrier for consumers, with packaging not clearly indicating when it was recyclable.

Michael Briggs, head of sustainability at Which?, commented, “We know UK consumers want packaging that is easy to recycle, and while many types of packaging can be recycled in household collections, the UK is lagging behind some other countries when it comes to packaging recyclability.

“Manufacturers must do more to ensure their packaging can be easily recycled, but as a first step the government should make recycling labels on grocery packaging mandatory, simple and clear – enabling shoppers to know exactly how to dispose of packaging on the products they use.”