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Recycling postcode lottery
We’re calling for an end to the recycling postcode lottery to give our customers more opportunities to recycle.
Even with our tough target to reduce packaging by 25% by the end of this year and ensure that as much of it as possible is recyclable and made from recycled content, our customers tell us that they are becoming increasingly frustrated by how difficult it is to recycle the packaging we give them. That’s why we’re calling for an end to the recycling postcode lottery.
Despite 92% of our packaging being recyclable, very few local authorities are able to collect it all, which means thousands of tonnes of packaging needlessly ends up in landfill, when it could’ve easily been recycled.
Local recycling…
As well as lots of news, facts and fun stuff on what you can do to start recycling, Recyclenow has a handy postcode search facility to help you find recycling services in your local area.
Local authority differences
While there are some shining stars out there who collect everything from glass to Tetrapak, and paper to plastic bottles, hundreds of other local authorities only collect the bare minimum, making it harder for our customers to do the right thing.
If you are unlucky enough to live somewhere where plastic or cardboard, or even glass bottles are not collected by your council, your dustbin is going to be much fuller, much quicker – and weigh more too.
That’s why we also strongly oppose the ‘pay as you throw’ bin tax.
Until there is a consistent, nationwide approach to recycling, any form of bin tax would be unfair and unjust.
Why should one ASDA customer be forced to pay more than another simply because their local authority doesn’t collect glass bottles, when down the road in a neighbouring town another local authority does? It simply doesn’t add up.
Why should one ASDA customer be forced to pay more than another simply because their local authority doesn’t recycle?
Calling on central government
While we understand the financial difficulties many local authorities face, it is essential that the right infrastructure is put in place now, so councils can start collecting all of the materials that can easily be recycled, diverting them from landfill.
That’s why we’re calling on central government to harmonise all local authority collection schemes and provide the necessary investment needed to kick start this process.
In the meantime ASDA will continue to chair the Cross Industry Packaging Waste Group to drive forward a strategy that makes it easier for our customers to recycle more of their waste regardless of where they live, and make it easier for retailers like ourselves to use materials that are more likely to be collected and recycled by local authorities.
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ASDA is calling on central government to harmonise all local authority collection schemes.
Rights and responsibilities
As a retailer we have a responsibility to cut out all unnecessary packaging, and ensure the remainder of our packaging is made from materials that can be easily recycled.
We also have a responsibility to use recycled content wherever possible, reducing our reliance on virgin materials and scarce natural resources like oil and wood.
Customers have a responsibility to recycle as much of our packaging as possible.
BUT
Government has a responsibility to make recycling as easy as possible for people regardless of where they live.
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Retailers, customers and government all have a responsibility when it comes to recycling.
What our customers are saying
At present there are huge regional differences when it comes to what you can and cannot recycle.
We asked just some of our customers what their Local Authorities were doing to help them recycle their waste.
“Because I live in a terraced house without a drive the local council won’t even let me have a green wheelie bin for recycling as it would have to be left out on the street. It’s totally mad.”
Richard Blacker, Pudsey“Lots of people in my area can separate out household waste to be recycled, but on my street the onus is on us to take it to the local bottle bank, paper bank and recycling centre. Not surprisingly, I’d recycle even more if I was given the same privileges as everyone else.”
Ian McFaul, Macclesfield“We’ve got a blue bin which we can put tin cans in as long as they’re washed out, beer cans and plastic bottles. We also put cardboard in it, but I’m not sure if that’s ok. No glass is allowed though.”
Georgina Bell, Mansfield“We have a brown bin which we can put our garden waste and uncooked food into like potato peelings. And a blue bin which is for toilet roll tubes, cereal boxes and cardboard packaging and newspaper. You can’t put in milk cartons or Tetrapak or any plastic tubs which is annoying.”
Josephine Kingsmore, Larne“It’s a joke, quite frankly. I don’t even bother. The council make it so hard for me that I end up chucking it all in the bin.”
Matt French, Reading
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There are currently huge regional differences when it comes to the availability of recycling facilities.
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