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The Sea of Soft Plastic

Great News! Soft Plastics can now be recycled.

Although soft plastics are not taken by the council, many supermarkets are now providing recycling bins for soft plastics, in an aim to combat environmental degradation and climate change.

Soft plastics are the packaging that you can’t normally put out with your household recycling. If you can scrunch the plastic and it bounces back, it’s likely to be a soft plastic.

So, this means packaging such as crisp packets, cereal liners, pasta bags, salad bags, biscuit and cake wrappers and bread bags can now be recycled. They are turned into coloured pellets, sent to various manufacturers and made into playground equipment, benches, walkways in nature reserves, plus a variety of other products.

Your local soft plastic supermarkets are:

  • Co-op, Whitchurch
  • Tesco's, Andover
  • Sainsbury's. Andover
  • Waitrose, Andover

And here is a list of what can be recycled at these supermarkets:

  • Biscuit and chocolate wrappers
  • Crisp packets and sweet bags
  • Plastic carrier bags
  • Baby, pet food, detergent and cleaning pouches
  • Cereal liners
  • Bread bags
  • Frozen food bags (washed)
  • Toilet roll wrapping
  • Cheese, fish and meat wrapping (clean)
  • Delivery bags
  • Salad, pasta, and rice bags
  • Multi-pack wrapping (joiners from multipacks)
  • Plastic film lids
  • Cling film
  • Crackly plastic (such as flower or greeting card wrappers)

They do not recycle biodegradable or compostable bags, dirty bags, blister packs, foam or polystyrene and sadly rigid plastics such as food trays and pots are still not widely recycled.

Whilst it’s best to avoid plastic packaging altogether, it isn’t always possible, so these bins will help prevent tons of plastic from going to landfill or being burned. However, the recycling system just cannot keep up and we will eventually run out of places for plastic benches! Every piece of plastic that has ever been manufactured and ended up in our environment is still on this planet and will remain there forever in some form. This is because plastic degrades rather than decomposes. So although these bins are a step in the right direction, ultimately, we need to reduce the amount of plastic that we use.

What you can do to reduce your plastic waste use!

Take your own containers to Local Zero at Weyhill Fairground Craft Centre, to be refilled from the huge choice of store cupboard food and cleaning products. The Boundary in SMB now has it's very own local refillable section which will not only help reduce your plastic consumption but with the added bonus of less carbon emissions. My Fab Find at Kenyons Yard, Andover is also selling refillable liquids.

Buy a few strong reusable lightweight vegetable bags to manage your loose fruit and veg in supermarkets or take your own bags to Kenyons, Andover market, or The Boundary.

Buy milk in returnable glass bottles from The Boundary or Weyhill Farm Shop which now has a milk vending machine.

Use a soda syphon to make your own fizzy drinks with natural flavouring.

Train yourself to carry a keep cup for hot drinks when out and about and a metal water bottle to replace the mountain of plastic bottles and plastic lined cups thrown away each year.

 

Sustainable Bourne Valley The Sea of Soft Plastic