Consumers are confused when it comes to recycling biodegradable and compostable plastic packaging, according to a study by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap).
Speaking at an event this week organised by Recoup, the organisation championing plastics recycling in the UK, Wrap’s key account manager for brands and suppliers outlined details of the survey completed recently.
Peter Skelton said 400 members of the public had taken part in focus groups and hall tests – the latter involves people being approached on the street and taken to a nearby venue.
Skelton said the aim of the survey was to gain an understanding of the public perception of biodegradable and compostable plastic packaging, and find out what consumers know and how they will behave when recycling.
One of the problems for consumers highlighted by the research was the indistinguishable nature of a bottle made from polylactic acid (PLA), which is biodegradable, and one from PET, which isn’t.
Skelton told PRW.com he was unsurprised by the confusion, but surprised by the level of simplicity that consumers required in terms of recycling direction.
“Consumers want to recycle [plastic] bottles all together. They don’t want to start sorting individually,” Skelton told the conference.
The study also showed consumers felt cheated if packaging labelled “biodegradable” wasn’t compostable, which is the case with some biodegradable polymers.
Skelton also warned of the problems of contamination and the potential cost to processors if PLA bottles get into the recycling streams of other plastics.
Also speaking at the Recoup event, Tony Breton from Novamont, the producer of starch-based Mater-Bi, said labelling should simply say whether an item of packaging was compostable or recyclable, not biodegradable.
When making its recommendations from the study, Wrap will suggest that merely labelling packaging “compostable” or “biodegradable” is not enough, and that consumers need clear guidance on how to recycle plastic packaging waste.
Wrap will also recommend a Home Compostable Standard, which would have its own logo and identify packaging that can be home composted, as opposed to some bioplastics (namely PLA) that require industrial composting.
Plastic bottle recycling is on the increase in the UK and, according to Recoup’s chief executive John Simmons, the figures for 2006 are expected to show a rate of 20%, or 100,000tpa.
