Follow the Plastic
Where does supermarket soft plastic packaging really go?
Soft plastic recycling should not be a black box.
Kids Against Plastic
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Kids Against Plastic
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Where does supermarket soft plastic packaging really go?
Soft plastic recycling should not be a black box.
Look at the investigations and ask what they show.
KAP is not the first to ask where soft plastic packaging goes after collection.
Previous investigations have tracked plastic packaging through complex waste routes. KAP has also carried out a small local AirTag test from a supermarket collection point in Arnold, Nottingham.
This page brings the evidence together and asks what we can learn from it.
Recycling labels can make soft plastic collection sound simple.
But after packaging is dropped off, the journey can become difficult for the public to see. It may pass through collection, sorting, recycling, recovery, export or disposal routes.
That does not mean every scheme is failing. But it does mean people deserve clearer answers.
Look at the investigations that raised questions about supermarket soft plastic recycling schemes, including the KAP AirTag test.
On this page
– Why investigate?
– Bloomberg investigation
– Everyday Plastic / EIA
– KAP’s first AirTag test
– What we know
– Questions raised
Next step
– Live Tracker
Follow the new AirTag journeys as they happen.
Soft plastic packaging often has recycling labels that tell people where to take it.
You might see wording like:
Bloomberg tracked plastic packaging placed into supermarket recycling systems and reported that some items travelled long distances through complex waste routes.
The investigation raised questions about how clear the journey is after soft plastic is collected, especially when material moves through sorting, export or energy recovery routes.
Everyday Plastic and the Environmental Investigation Agency tracked soft plastic returned through supermarket collection points.
Their investigation raised serious questions about how much supermarket-collected soft plastic is recycled, how much is exported, and how much may be burned for energy recovery.
Two larger investigations helped shape this campaign. They showed that the journey after supermarket collection can be more complex than the label suggests.
KAP placed four AirTags inside clean soft plastic packaging and returned them through a Sainsbury’s collection point in Arnold, Nottingham.
The trackers appeared to move through different parts of the waste and recycling system. Some routes became unclear. The test was small, but it gave KAP a practical way to ask the same question locally:
What happens after collection?
KAP will now follow four more pieces of soft plastic packaging, one at a time.
Each tracker will help us ask what we know, what we do not know, and what questions the journey raises.
Sources:
– Bloomberg
– Everyday Plastic / EIA
– The Guardian reporting on the EIA / Everyday Plastic investigation
– KAP’s first AirTag test
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