Asda is employing augmented reality in a bid to ramp up recycling rates.
The supermarket has joined forces with dairy co-operative Arla to launch the ‘Have You Herd?’ app this week as part of Recycle Week.
It uses AR technology to inform shoppers about recycling their milk bottles correctly, with an animated milk bottle character coming to life when shoppers hover their smartphones in front of any Asda milk bottle.
The app then links to a video explaining how to rinse and recycle their bottles.
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Customers can also scan the barcode to activate a ‘totaliser’, to see how many bottles they have personally recycled and how many all Asda shoppers have recycled to date.
Despite being made of one of the most recyclable plastics, it’s estimated that around 20% of milk bottles are not currently collected for recycling.
Asda said based on its sales alone it meant each year over 50 million milk bottles that could be recycled were not.
“Milk is one of our biggest-selling products and while the percentage of bottles recycled is good compared to some other lines, even a small increase will make a huge difference,” said Nikki Dixon, senior manager for plastic reduction at Asda.
“We hope that by engaging customers through this new technology, we can continue to educate and drive awareness on the correct way to recycle - every bottle counts.”
The ‘Have You Herd?’ app is available on Google Play and the App Store.
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