CO-OPERATIVE supermarkets are aiming to have 80% of all its packaging recyclable by 2020.

According to figures from the Co-op, two-thirds of all plastic packaging used for consumer products is sent to landfill sites or incineration, leaving only one third to be recycled.  This means that only half a million of the 1.5 million tonnes of recyclable waste created ever year is being reduced and reused as intended.

It is thought that this is due to a lack of knowledge about what packaging can be recycled as well as local authorities having a lack of facilities to help deal with the situation.

Co-op’s environmental manager, Iain Ferguson has that they hope to reduce this waste by changing the products’ packaging that they sell to include more and easier information about how to recycle the waste; “Our long-term ambition is for ALL packaging to be recycled where it can be.”

The Co-op has already begun to redesign and simplify its packaging as well as planning to introduce clear labelling on their products so consumers can differentiate between items that aren’t recyclable and those that are.  The company is calling on other retailers to follow their lead so businesses can work together to improve recycling rates.

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