man recycling plastic bottle

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21% of consumers mistakenly throw non-recyclable items into their recycling

Almost half of the British public are calling for clearer labelling on plastic packaging to avoid unnecessary waste, new research suggests.

Compostable packaging company TIPA commissioned the research which revealed that 48% of British shoppers would like products with plastic-free packaging to be clearly identifiable on retailers’ shelves. 

“We’re now at a point where people better understand the damage of plastic waste and are keen to reduce their carbon footprint but aren’t always sure how best to go about it,” said TIPA CEO Daphna Nissenbaum. “This often leads people to play it safe with packaging they aren’t sure is recyclable, due to unclear or unlabelled packaging and end up using the wrong receptacles. This can cause unnecessary strain on recycling centres that have to sift through hundreds of tonnes of non-recyclable matter.”

Read more: M&S launches ‘plastic take-back’ scheme for customers

The research shows many consumers are already taking an active stance in identifying which packaging formats are fit for recycling with 54% saying they check the labelling before throwing it away. 

However, confusion still exists with 21% of consumers admitting to mistakenly throwing non-recyclable packaging into their recycling bin. 

The introduction of a plastic-free aisle in stores was suggested by 39%, while 29% of those surveyed went further to say every retailer should be completely plastic-free zones.