From red / dpa February 01, 2021 – 11:55 a.m.
Cardboard boxes for packaging are becoming a problem in the UK.
Photo: dpa / Peter Kneffel
In Great Britain, the cardboard boxes for packaging are becoming scarce due to the corona pandemic and Brexit. Some companies are currently making do with alternatives.
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From red / dpa
02/01/2021 – 11:55 a.m.
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London – Due to Brexit and the corona pandemic, cardboard boxes for packaging have become a scarce commodity in Great Britain. There are several reasons for this, the industry association Confederation of Paper Industries told the BBC. Every year there is the highest demand for cardboard boxes over Christmas. Due to the corona pandemic and Brexit, however, the shortage has worsened massively, as all kinds of goods are bought online due to closed shops and many companies have also built up stocks because of the Brexit. New capacities are created accordingly.
Plastic instead of cardboard
The head of the packaging company DS Smith, Miles Roberts, told the BBC that the pace of recycling of used boxes has also decreased, as large deliveries to retail branches are currently missing. These boxes usually ended up directly at recycling centers. “One of the challenges for us is because a lot of packaging is now lying around in apartments or garages: How do we get it back into the recycling cycle so that it can be used again?”
Some companies are currently making do with alternatives: For example, some supermarkets use plastic packaging instead of cardboard for eggs. A London brewery called on social media to bring used cardboard boxes over.
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