Research by Aquapak shows that consumers are unsure despite the introduction of extended producer responsibility
New research from Aquapak, which specialises in developing environmentally safe materials to reduce plastic pollution and improve recycling, showed that the majority (70 per cent) of British consumers admitted they were confused by what packaging can and can’t be recycled.
According to the group’s research, just one in five (21 per cent) said they always read the recycling instructions on product packaging; this increased to almost one in three (31 per cent) in the 25–34 age group but dropped to 17 per cent for those aged 65 and over.
However, almost one in ten (9 per cent) said they never bothered reading whether the packaging they had bought can be recycled.
The survey also pointed to a problem with the recycling instructions producers were using on their packaging.
Only 10 per cent of Brits said they always found instructions on how to dispose of packaging easy to understand, over half 52 per cent described them as “sometimes” understandable and just 29 per cent said they were “often” easy to understand.
When asked which every-day packaging was the easiest to dispose of and recycle, over half (53 per cent) stated paper; followed by glass (18 per cent), plastic (13 per cent), mixed materials (9 per cent) and metal (eg aluminium) (7 per cent).
Aquapak said the findings highlighted the ”enormous challenge” the government faced when it came to the 12mn tonnes of packaging waste thrown away in the UK annually, a significant proportion of which is plastic or complex flexible packaging using conventional plastic which is difficult to sort and recycle.
To tackle the problem, the government introduced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) on 1 January 2025, which is intended to shift responsibility from consumers to producers, incentivising them to create recyclable packaging and providing clearer guidance to consumers, ultimately leading to a more straightforward and less confusing recycling process.
EPR mandates the use of universally understandable labels on packaging, indicating whether an item is recyclable or not, simplifying the process for consumers.
By making producers financially responsible for the collection and recycling of their packaging, EPR encourages them to design products and packaging that are easier to recycle and reuse, reducing the amount of difficult-to-recycle material on the market.
EPR also aims to fund improvements in recycling infrastructure and education, further supporting easier and more efficient recycling practices.
However, Aquapak has called on the government to ensure that legislation underpinning the EPR enables producers to use new materials if they are to decrease the total environmental impact of their products by moving away for hard to recycle conventional plastics.
“Our research findings suggest that there is a very long way to go when it comes to making packaging recyclability in the UK easy to understand for the consumer, particularly as so much of it contains hard to recycle plastic material,” said Dr John Williams, chief technical officer at Aquapak.
”There needs to be a significant shift away from the status quo for packaging,” he continued.
”New legislation should support faster adoption of innovation that is specifically developed to retain packaging functionality, support recyclability and offer safe end of life options if optimal waste management processes are not available.
“We would also argue that if the target of EPR is to ensure that producers actively engage in sustainable practices and decrease the total environmental impact from their products and packaging, we can’t keep using the same tools and materials to fix the problem,” Williams urged.
”Extended responsibility must also mean an extension to include the use of proven new materials to help producers recycle more effectively without compromising the integrity of their products.”
