Recycle This Summer With The Co-op
With summer in full swing, it can be tempting (and easy!) to buy single-use plastics. But there are ways we can make the most of summer without impacting the planet – and that starts with recycling. Rob Thompson, packaging manager, explains more.
Summer is here, life is busy and it’s all too easy to forgo the extra few steps required to recycle rubbish properly. But whenever you do, know that you’re making a small but meaningful difference. Helpfully, most hard plastics can be recycled through kerbside recycling bins, and you can also recycle soft plastics at your local Co-op store.
Where do plastics go?
In fact, there are now over 2,300 soft plastic collection points across Co-op stores, but what happens to the plastic we collect?
We split our plastic recycling into three categories: PE, PP and mixed plastics. PE (polyethylene, to give it its official name) is the plastic commonly used in most plastic packaging. Our recycled PE is used to make bags and sacks. Next, PP (or polypropylene) is a more robust form of plastic that gets used to make rigid products, such as stacking boxes or buckets. Finally, mixed plastics become plastic wood for use in the construction industry. By recycling your soft plastics, you’re giving them a new lease of life – and helping the environment while you’re at it.
Recycling: as easy as 1,2,3
Remember these three quick and easy steps this summer when recycling your soft plastics:
- Clean it. Give all your packaging a quick rinse to remove any leftover food, and give it a quick pat dry too.
- Scrunch it. So we can fit as much recycling in our bins as possible, fold or scrunch up your soft plastics.
- Co-op it. Bring your cleaned and scrunched soft plastics into a Co-op store and place them in our soft plastic recycling bins.
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