The Dirty Dozen – The 12 everyday items tripping up the nation’s recycling efforts
New research reveals that despite their best intentions, over a third of people in the UK don’t believe that their recycling efforts have an impact the environment. We found that that almost half (48%) of consumers don’t think that packaging in the UK is easily recyclable, with two thirds (67%) saying that there is a lot of conflicting advice on recycling and a similar number (60%) saying that the disposal instructions on items are hard to find. Analysis from our Kemsley Paper Mill, the largest mill for recycled paper in the UK, has revealed its ‘Dirty Dozen’ – the top 12 items that are harder to recycle when put into mixed or paper recycling streams. According to the research, conducted in partnership with YouGov, the most common Dirty Dozen items put in the recycling bin are junk mail (72%), food trays (38%) and pulp fruit trays (28%) – with soup cartons (21%) and crisp tubes (18%) also making an appearance.