UK recycling organisation Recoup (Peterborough; www.recoup.org) has warned that the plans of local supermarket chain Morrisons (Bradford; https://groceries.morrisons.com) to sell its own-brand milk in cartons rather than plastic bottles risks confusing shoppers about what can be recycled.

Morrisons said last month that it would be selling nine types of its fresh milk products in Tetra Pak cartons, a move expected to initially cut plastics use by 100 t/y.

But Anne Hitch, Recoup’s head of citizen and stakeholder strategy, questioned the plan to call a product “‘100% recyclable’ when we know that so many consumers are unable to place the item for recycling kerbside. This claim sends the opposite message to consumers with the likely unintended consequence of mixed dry recycling contamination.”

Related: Confusion abounds on recyclability of complex plastics packaging: Recoup survey

Recoup said plastic bottles are part of every local UK kerbside collection plan, while drinks cartons are only collected at around 65% . It also warned the multi-material nature of cartons made them “a more complex option than natural high-density polyethylene”.

Last year, Morrisons bought a stake in a recycling plant in Glenrothes, Scotland (see Plasteurope.com 19.11.2021). It said the material generated at the site would be used for a range of applications, including store fixtures and fittings.