The feasibility of including flexible laminated packaging in household recycling schemes is being investigated by a partnership of large brands across the production industry, led by sustainability consultancy Anthesis LRS.

Use of flexible laminated packaging is growing, with Defra estimating that over 160,000 tonnes enter the UK marketplace each year, with a value of €1.5 billion (£1 billion). But as this packaging often contains a mix of aluminium and various recyclable plastics, it Is difficult to collect and separate for recycling.

Following a scoping exercise last year, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is now providing £188,000 to the Action Based Research Programme project to see if aluminium-lined items such as food and drinks pouches, pet food pouches and toothpaste tubes could be feasibly collected and the aluminium recovered.

Details of the trials

Nine-month trials are being supported by Bracknell Forest Council, Calderdale Council and the London Borough of Hounslow for the project, with up to 260 households in each area being given caddy bags to use for kerbside collections.

In Bracknell Forest, Berkshire, the target material will be collected on the same day as the fortnightly comingled collections.

The participating residents in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, will have theirs collected as part of their weekly kerbside-sorted recycling collections, and a collection point has also been installed at the Sowerby Bridge Household Recycling Centre, which can be used by all Calderdale residents.

In Hounslow the collection will also take place alongside weekly recycling collections.

Different methods of engaging with the participating residents will be tested. The project hopes to observe how different communications approaches, consumer behaviour and brands influence collection models across different demographics and locations. Coca Cola Enterprises, producer of the Capri Sun brand, and Nestlé UK will be providing communication support to the project.

The collections for the duration of the trial will be carried out by SUEZ Environnement (formerly SITA UK) and the material will be recycled by technology developers Enval.

‘Another step towards a more circular economy’

Dee Moloney, Director of Anthesis LRS, said: “Flexible laminated packaging, such as food and drink pet food pouches, is becoming increasingly widespread and the global market is anticipated to continue to grow year on year. Therefore, if these trials prove that viable collection, sorting and recycling schemes can be implemented, it will support the increased flow of materials into the secondary markets, establishing another step towards a more circular economy in the UK.”

Stuart Hayward-Higham, Technical Development Director at the UK recycling and waste recovery division of SUEZ Environnement, added: “The outcomes of the trials will enable project partners and other industry stakeholders to evaluate the potential to include flexible laminated packaging in mainstream recycling collections in the UK, which SUEZ Environnement is keen to explore.”

The packaging that is collected will be treated at Enval’s facility near Huntingdon, where the plastic and aluminium will be separated.

Speaking about the project, Dr Carlos Ludlow-Palafox, Managing Director at Enval, said: “These trials are providing an important opportunity to prove that we can successfully capture and recycle the valuable aluminium, as well as recover the plastics as a fuel oil product.”

Resource Management Minister Dan Rogerson said that Defra was “pleased to support this project, which is part of the government’s wider approach to enabling businesses to be more sustainable”, and looked forward to “seeing the results of these innovative studies which could lead to us extracting more value from our resources, saving energy and supporting further growth in the UK’s recycling and remanufacturing industries”.

He added: “Together this will build a fairer society and stronger economy.”

Existing collection options

At present, those wishing to recycle this form of packaging have to work with schemes run by private recycling companies.

Earlier this month, recycling and upcycling organisation TerraCycle launched a partnership with children’s food brand Ella’s Kitchen to establish collection points for used baby food pouches and to encourage their recycling and reuse.

'EllaCycle' is just the latest partnership that the organisation has developed in recent years to facilitate the recycling of complex packaging not collected by local authorities.

Last year, schemes working with McVities, to encourage consumers to collect and return biscuit wrappers, and Febreze, to provide a way to recycle air fresheners were set up.

TerraCycle creates groups of consumers called ‘Brigades’ who set up public collection points and send in shipments or simply freepost their used materials. The organisation then recycles the materials into new products such as lunchbags (pictured, right) and watering cans.

Find out more about the EllaCycle project in the video below.