Almost two out of three plastic packaging is not recyclable | Inland

This is reported by Natuur & Milieu after an investigation. The environmental organization examined packaging of products that people often use in daily life, both private labels and A-brands, and made a comparison between the largest supermarkets in the Netherlands. All supermarkets involved in the study have endorsed the so-called Plastic Pact, in which agreements have been made to market as much 100 percent recyclable packaging as possible, says Natuur & Milieu. “But in spite of all these fine words, we have to conclude that when it comes down to it, supermarkets and manufacturers are putting marketing and ease of use before sustainability,” says Jelmer Vierstra of Natuur & Milieu.

Private labels do better

According to the environmental organization, private labels do better than the A-brands in terms of recyclability. Compared to the other supermarkets, Jumbo and Ekoplaza also score the worst: the number of packaging that cannot be recycled is higher and it is also more difficult to make the packaging properly recyclable, according to the organization. According to Natuur & Milieu, Jumbo and Albert Heijn are leading the way with clear and complete disposal instructions. “However, at Ekoplaza and Lidl, good information is lacking for the vast majority of packaging.”

According to Vierstra, it already yields an enormous improvement if producers and supermarkets do their best a little better. For example, if the label is made of paper and glued to plastic, that gets in the way of recycling.

Natuur & Milieu wants the government to ensure that supermarkets and manufacturers only make packaging that is easily recyclable. “The quality of the plastics must be maintained, otherwise there will be no effective recycling of raw materials,” says Vierstra. The organization also believes that more needs to be done to ensure that consumers opt for reusable packaging. “Ultimately, reusable packaging is of course even better than disposable packaging,” says Vierstra. He is thinking, for example, of a discount for consumers who opt for refillable juice bottles.

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