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.

“While many people are doing their best to recycle commonly used items, the problem starts way before then in how a product is made. Our Circular Design Principles ensure that recyclability is built in at the start of the process, not at the end.

By designing packaging which reduces the number of different components used and contains labelling that is easier for customers to understand, we increase the quality of the recyclable products and reduce the current volume of materials that are rejected. We are working with our customers and others in the industry to help achieve this so that we can create a truly circular economy.” — Rogier Gerritsen, Managing Director at DS Smith Recycling

See The Dirty Dozen at: https://www.dssmith.com/recycling/about/media-centre/2022/3/the-dirty-dozen/

Related Posts

Vinda Group’s FSC Certification Terminated

FSC is terminating the Trademark License Agreement (TLA) of the eight certificate holders belonging to the Vinda group through a mutually agreed termination agreement. Hence, the Vinda group can no longer be associated with FSC because it was recently acquired by the Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) group. FSC disassociated from the RGE group, which includes APRIL, in August 2013. According to the mutual termination agreement: *The TLAs of all the Vinda certificate holders will be terminated effective 30 September 2024. Therefore, after the termination becomes effective, these companies can no longer produce products with FSC claims, and they cannot claim that they are FSC-certified. *The liquidation period of all FSC-labelled products produced up to and including 30 September 2024 may be sold with an FSC label until 31 December 2024. This means that Vinda can no longer sell products with FSC claims after this date. Vinda’s customers who bought products produced by Vinda as FSC-certified before the end of the liquidation period will be able to claim that they are FSC-certified without any time restrictions.

Transforming Wood Waste into Energy for Our Mills

“Biomass” isn't a word most people know. But this renewable, cost effective fuel is becoming increasingly important to our planet. It helps reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and curtail the demand for purchased electricity while lowering greenhouse gas emissions. What is biomass? It's fuel from organic materials. The woody biomass GP uses comes mainly from tree waste, such as bark, wood residues and by-products from pulping wood fiber. And it makes up more than 50 percent of the energy we use to run our plants and mills. As whole trees come into sites such as our Alabama River Cellulose (ARC) facility near Monroeville, Alabama, bark is removed from logs before they go into the chipper. The dissolved lignin (black liquor) is later removed leaving behind the cellulose fibers. The bark and the black liquor are then used as biomass fuel. Click Read More bellow for additional information.

Lecta Starts Up Biological Water Purification Plant at Zaragoza Pulp and Paper Mill

Lecta announced that it has successfully completed a new phase in its ambitious investment plan at its Zaragoza pulp and paper mill in northern Spain. This phase, totalling some 23 million euros, is focused on reducing the mills environmental impact. Lecta's goal is that the Zaragoza site become a benchmark for sustainability in the paper industry. Following the installation of two new electrostatic precipitators in the mill's recovery boilers, resulting in a 74% reduction in solid particle emissions, Lecta has started up a biological water purification plant with excellent results. In the first few months, there has already been a drastic reduction in effluent load, with values far below the legal limits. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) values were cut nearly in half, Total Suspended Solids (TSS) have decreased by 36% and in the case of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5), the decrease was even more pronounced — 72% compared to the average observed in 2013.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search