Stores in Hertfordshire, Essex and North West London have already received new collection banks for cartons, with the scheme now rolling out to 100 stores by September.
 Cartons are difficult to recycle, but carton producers are now expanding the UK collection network |
The scheme is run under a partnership between packaging industry group ACE UK – the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment – and Tesco. ACE members include carton producers including Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc.
ACE has already supported local authority collection schemes for cartons (see letsrecycle.com story), but Tesco is the first major supermarket to join the carton collection network.
Around 4% of UK cartons are recycled, with carton producers aiming to increase this to 10% by 2010. Cartons are more difficult to recycle than other forms of packaging because they are made of fused paper, plastic and aluminium.
At present, the paper fraction of cartons can be pulped and recycled into new paper products. The plastic and aluminium fractions have been used to make products like garden furniture and roofing materials, but is often sent to energy recovery plants or cement kilns.
Richard Hands, chairman of ACE UK and environment manager at Tetra Pak UK, said: “Just three years ago, there was very little collection of cartons for recycling in the UK, as no local authorities had the facilities to collect them. But that picture has changed significantly.
“Now, we’re looking at over 100 local authority areas with carton collection facilities and more coming on board every day, taking us a step closer to creating a national carton collection network by the end of 2008.”
Waitrose
Meanwhile, rival supermarket chain Waitrose has announced measures it believes will see shoppers cutting down on the number of carrier bags they use.
On a two-week trial starting next Monday (May 14), the supermarket will stop giving out free carrier bags at the checkouts of its Saffron Walden store. Customers at the bagless will be encouraged to re-use bags or purchase re-usable bags, with Waitrose giving free “Bags for Life” out to shoppers in the two weeks prior to the trial start.
 “Green tills” at 14 Waitrose stores will serve only shoppers using re-usable bags |
The supermarket said a survey of 1,000 shoppers in the trial store had seen 90% of shoppers backing the scheme.
Branch manager Malcolm Domb said: “As a business we are committed to reducing unnecessary packaging and plastic bag usage. Many of our customers already engage in our Bag for Life scheme and use our bag recycling facility. By introducing this initiative we hope to continue to raise awareness and have a positive influence on shopping habits when it comes to the environment.”
In a further trial, Waitrose will trial “green tills” at 14 of its stores where checkout lanes will only be available to shoppers using re-usable bags.
Waitrose will be looking at how customers respond to their new bagless tills before deciding on its next steps as a business, it said.
WRAP, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, welcomed the move by Waitrose, with the government's recycling delivery body saying it was “exactly the kind of initiative we are looking for” by retailers signed up to the national retail commitment to cut packaging waste, the Courtauld Agreement.
WRAP chief executive Dr Liz Goodwin said: “We are also delighted that Waitrose now provide their customers with bag recycling facilities at each outlet, and that they are introducing more recycled material into their carrier bags, in an effort to cut back on the total usage of oil based plastics, and to encourage recycling. We hope the trials are successful and look forward to the results.”
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