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2022.
More local stores offering soft plastic recycling

7 October 2022

More local stores offering soft plastic recycling

Soft plastics, such as cling film, biscuit wrappers and carrier bags, can now be recycled in even more co-operative convenience store locations.

Following the success of its trials and in response to customer demand, Southern Co-op now has soft plastics recycling bins in 167 stores across the south of England.

The independent, regional co-operative hopes its expansion of soft plastics recycling bins will enable more customers to safely recycle materials that can't be recycled at home.

Simon Eastwood, Chief Operating Officer for Retail at Southern Co-op, said: "We started to trial these towards the end of last year and they have been really well received by both customers and colleagues.

"We would ask recyclers to double check if their plastics can be recycled before putting it in the bin. One way to do this is the scrunch test. It also needs to have had a quick clean but it doesn't need to have been bought in store to be recycled with us."

All Co-op branded food packaging is now easy to recycle through a combination of kerbside collections and soft plastic recycling in store.

Once collected, the recyclable material is sent to a company called Jayplas which will turn it into post-consumer plastic granules. These are then made into secondary products such as bin liners, buckets, and construction industry materials.

Examples of acceptable items for recycling project include: Bread bags, produce bags, ordinary carrier bags, wrappers around kitchen towel and toilet roll, bags that nappies come in, bags from cotton wool, cereal box liners, bags from frozen foods, bags from ice cubes, lids on yogurts, cream and desserts, lids from packs of meat and ready meals, lidding film from cheese packs, wrapping around chicken, fruit and veg flow wrap, chocolate wrappers, wrappers from croissants, pancakes and crumpet etc, biscuit wrappers, wrappers from cakes and Yorkshire puddings, flower wrappers, bags from dried fruit, sugar, pulses, rice and pasta, protective wrappers from gift wrap, bags from gift tags, pastry packaging, bags from household textiles and similar such as all-purpose cloths, dusters, dishcloths, rubber gloves and scourers, wrappers from pet food, wrappers from pies, pasties and sausage rolls, bagged sweets, pizza wrappers, bags from porridge and muesli pouches, and packaging from baby wipes and similar.

Gemma Lacey, Director of Sustainability and Communications at Southern Co-op, said: "We all need to do our bit to ensure our future is waste free. We are really pleased with how the trials of soft plastic recycling has gone so far and are now keen to enable more people to make use of it.

"We know the appetite for change is there within our communities and together we can all play our part in making a positive difference to our environment and our communities."

All store waste is already diverted from landfill with dry mixed items separated for recycling and food broken down to produce biogas and bio-fertiliser through anaerobic digestion.

This is one area of work which forms part of Southern Co-op's climate action activity. It also has ambitious science based targets to cut direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from its business by 2030.

To view Southern Co-op's commitment to climate change and responsible business strategy, visit https://southern.coop/how-we-do-it/sustainability.

Stores in Berkshire with soft plastic recycling bins include The Co-operative Food in Binfield’s Forest Road, Lambourn’s High Street, Newbury’s Brummell Road and Pound Street, Windsor’s Arthur Road, and Wokingham’s Market Place.

Stores in Bristol and Somerset with soft plastic recycling bins include The Co-operative Food in Bristol’s Ashley Down Road, Church Road, Long Down Avenue, School Road, Two Mile Hill Road, Wells Road and Whiteladies Road, Banwell’s Knightcott Road, Bath’s Widcombe Hill, Bedminster’s North Street, Bridgwater’s Stockmoor Drive, Burnham on Sea’s Berrow Road, Cotford St Luke’s Graham Way, Frome’s Nunney Road, Keynsham’s Queens Road, Nailsea’s Hannah More Road, Norton Fitzwarren’s Morse Road, Pill’s Baltic Place, Portishead’s Port Marine, Taunton’s Wellington New Road, and Yeovil’s Mudford Road.

Stores in Devon with soft plastic recycling bins include The Co-operative Food in Bow’s Burston Cross Road, Cranbrook’s Younghayes Road, Exeter’s Alphington Road and Buddle Lane, and Exmouth’s Exeter Road.

Stores in Dorset with soft plastic recycling bins include The Co-operative Food in Bearwood’s King John Avenue, Blandford’s Salisbury Road, Bournemouth’s Belle Vue Road, Castle Lane, East Howe Lane, and Madeira Road, Creekmoor’s Northmead Drive, Poole’s Ringwood Road and Tatnam Road, Portland’s Weston Road, Sturminster’s Station Road, Verwood’s Ringwood Road, Weymouth’s Chickerell Road, and Wimborne’s Wimborne Road.

Stores in East Sussex with soft plastic recycling bins include The Co-operative Food in Eastbourne’s Beatty Road, Lindfield Road and Seaside, Brighton’s Bramber House in Falmer, Hove’s Old Shoreham Road, Portland Road and Western Road, Portslade’s Abinger Road, St Leonards’s Battle Road 290 and Battle Road 100, and Wadhurst’s Sparrows Green Road.

Stores in Hampshire with soft plastic recycling bins include The Co-operative Food in Alderholt’s Ringwood Road, Aldershot’s Lower Farnham Road, Alresford’s West Street, Alton’s High Street, Andover East Anton Farm Road and Picket Twenty, Basingstoke’s Kings Road and Wallingford Road, Beggarwood’s Broadmere Road, Bishops Waltham’s High Street, Boyatt Wood’s The Parade, Bridgemary’s Gregson Avenue, Chandlers Ford’s Falkland Court, Church Crookham’s Aldershot Road, Clanfield’s White Dirt Lane, Cowplain’s London Road, Crookhorn’s The Precinct, Denmead’s Hambledon Road, Drayton’s Havant Road, Eastleigh’s Leigh Road, Emsworth’s High Street, Fairoak’s Sandy Lane, Fareham’s Gudge Heath Lane, Four Marks’s Winchester Road, Gosport’s Dartmouth Court, Forton Road and Palmyra Road, Havant’s Middle Park Way and St Albans Road, Hayling Island’s Elm Grove, Holbury’s Long Lane, Lee on Solent’s High Street and Twyford Drive, Liphook’s Headley Road, Lyndhurst’s High Street, North Baddesley’s Seymour Parade, Odiham’s High Street, Overton’s Winchester Street, Portchester’s White Hart Lane, Portsmouth’s Copnor Road, Eastney Road, Elm Grove, Fawcett Road, Great Southsea Street, New Road, Highland Road, Tangier Road, Twyford Avenue, Western Road and Winter Road, Purbrook’s London Road, Romsey’s Abbotswood Common Road, Botley Road, The Hundred and Winchester Hill, Rooksdown’s Limes Park, Southampton’s City Gateway, Commercial Road, High Street, Hursley Road and Main Road, Tadley’s Franklin Avenue, West End’s High Street, Westbourne’s The Square, Whiteley’s Yew Tree Drive, and Wickham’s The Square.

Stores on the Isle of Wight with soft plastic recycling bins include The Co-operative Food in Carisbrooke’s High Street, Cowes’s Mill Hill Road, Ryde’s West Street and Shanklin’s Regent Street.

Stores in Kent with soft plastic recycling bins include The Co-operative Food in Ashford’s Loudon Way, Lenham’s Faversham Road, Minster’s Monkton Road, Sidcup’s The Oval, and Whitstable’s Cromwell Road.

Stores in London with soft plastic recycling bins include The Co-operative Food in Bromley’s Homesdale Road, Chislehurst’s White Horse Hill, and Shirley’s Orchard Way.

Stores in Surrey with soft plastic recycling bins include The Co-operative Food in Addlestone’s Church Road and New Haw Road, Banstead’s Nork Way, Camberley’s Frimley Road, Chertsey’s Fordwater Road, Chobham’s Bagshot Road, Farnham’s Farnborough Road, Oxted’s Station Road, Staines’s Laleham Road, West Ewell’s Ruxley Lane, and Wrecclesham’s Wrecclesham Road.

Stores in West Sussex with soft plastic recycling bins include The Co-operative Food in Bognor Regis’s Hawthorn Road and Rose Green Road, Bosham’s Delling Lane, Broadbridge Heath’s Wickhurst Square, Burgess Hill’s Junction Road and London Road, Chichester’s Bognor Road, Lavant Road, Oliver Whitby Road, Spitalfield Lane and Stockbridge Road, East Wittering’s Cakeham Road, Ferring’s Ferring Street, Haywards Heath’s Franklynn Road, Horsham’s Guildford Road, Selsey’s High Street, and Yapton’s Main Road.

Stores in Wiltshire with soft plastic recycling bins include The Co-operative Food in Bradford On Avon’s Winsley Road, Corsham’s Macie Drive, Mere’s The Square, and Old Sarum’s Crosier Close.