Jim Borcherds, Green Party campaigner, has written to The Comet about the use and recycling of soft plastics by supermarkets. The letter, published on the 26th May, reads:
Last week thousands of people took part in The Big Plastic Count. We should all be looking to reduce our use of single use plastic. Unfortunately, there are many items in our shops that are still wrapped in plastic. This cannot be recycled at home. For example, it is often difficult to buy fresh fruit and vegetables without them being wrapped in a soft plastic bag.
About a year ago, the Co-Op started a soft plastic recycling scheme, this initiative was soon followed by other supermarkets. This scheme now allows us to recycle almost any soft plastic at many supermarkets, for example crisp packets, food and pet pouches, plastic wrappers, any plastic film and any plastic bag.
The more soft plastic we take to the supermarket for recycling the less will go to general waste saving disposal costs for both for Stevenage and North Herts councils.Hopefully, the more supermarkets have to dispose of, the sooner we will be able to buy more products without the single use plastic wrapper.
Please note that much of the plastic that can be taken to supermarkets still says on it “Not currently recycled”, “not to be recycled at home” or similar. Do take a look at the collection points at supermarkets and their websites to check what you can put in their soft plastic recycling units.Jim BorcherdsGreen Campaigner in Stevenage