23/10/2007

Recycling Targets Will Be Missed: Report

It has been claimed that the UK will fail to hit important recycling targets.

A new report has revealed that as much as 40% of the packaging used by leading supermarkets cannot be recycled.

The Local Government Association (LGA) document has warned that big food chains must therefore cut back on excessive packaging.

Marks & Spencer was named the retailer that used the lowest percentage of packaging that could be recycled, while Lidl was the worst offender when it came to total volume of packaging used.

The findings were based on analysis of packaging used for a basket of 29 common grocery items bought from Asda, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, a local retailer and a market.

Tesco used the least packaging by weight at 684.5g per basket, while the local market and local retail had the highest proportion of packaging that could be recycled, both at 79 per cent of the total amount used.

Overall, shoppers who used a local food market was the most environmentally-friendly option because they used a relatively low volume of packaging and had a high proportion which could be recycled.

LGA environment board chairman Cllr Paul Bettison said: "People are working hard to increase their recycling rates, but their efforts are being hamstrung by needlessly over-packaged products on sale in supermarkets."

(BMcC)

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