89% Of People Call For More Sustainable Packaging.

28 September, 18

This Recycling Week, Veolia, the UK’s leading resource management company reveals new research that says 89%* of people believe packaging should change. The data shows the public want packaging to include recycled material, be more easily recyclable or be removed altogether.

Following the broadcast of Blue Planet II, 35% of Brits say they have a better understanding of packaging recyclability, although the research also reveals that there is still some confusion. Many consumers for example, still believe that hard to recycle or non recyclable items such as coffee cups (27%), black plastic containers (26%), toothpaste tubes (20%) and crisp and sweets wrappers (11%) are commonly recyclable.

Veolia has released a recycling ‘mythbuster’ to help reduce misinformation, offering advice on what actually can and cannot be recycled. This follows Veolia’s recently published Plan for Plastics which demonstrates that consumers expect over 50% of a plastic bottle to be made from recycled content.

Richard Kirkman, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer for Veolia said:

“It’s encouraging that public knowledge on recycling is improving overall, but there is still some way to go. When we start simplifying packaging and provide clearer labeling, this will enable more sustainable choices at the supermarket and ensure more materials will be collected and accepted at recycling centres. This is the essence of a circular economy and something we should all be striving towards.”

Veolia is a founding member of the UK Plastics Pact and has long invested in sustainable solutions to packaging with ambitious targets to reduce plastic packaging waste*. Together with other major industry players, Veolia is working with manufacturers to rethink and redesign the packaging that’s placed on the market, so the UK can move towards a system which keeps the majority of plastic packaging in the circular economy.

Veolia’s Pledge to the UK Plastics Pact
Veolia is a founding member of the UK Plastics Pact, a bold and unique initiative developed by WRAP and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation that will transform the UK’s plastic system by redefining how plastic is perceived, designed and recycled. Together with other major industry players, the plastic pact will move the UK towards a system which keeps plastic in the economy and out of the environment. It will encompass innovation, research and new business models to rethink and redesign what packaging we put on the market in the first place, and how we can encourage more reuse of packaging.

Targets set for 2025:
100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable
70% of plastic packaging to be effectively recycled or composted
30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging
Take action to eliminate problematic or unnecessary single use packaging items through redesign, innovation or alternative delivery models.

About Veolia UK

Veolia group is the global leader in optimized resource management. With nearly 169 000 employees worldwide, the Group designs and provides water, waste and energy management solutions that contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industries. Through its three complementary business activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and to replenish them

In 2017, the Veolia group supplied 96 million people with drinking water and 62 million people with wastewater service, produced nearly 55 million megawatt hours of energy and converted 47 million metric tons of waste into new materials and energy. Veolia Environnement (listed on Paris Euronext: VIE) recorded consolidated revenue of €25.12 billion in 2017(USD 30.1 billion). www.veolia.com

About Recycle Week 2018 (24-30 September)

Now in its 15th year, Recycle Week is a celebration of recycling, organised by WRAP under the Recycle Now brand. The aim of the week is to encourage the public to recycle more, by demonstrating the benefits of recycling items from all around the home.This year’s theme will be: ‘Recycling. We do. Because it matters.’ The theme is designed to capture attention and put across simple but important messages about why recycling matters.

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