Councils and retailers clash on packaging

Up to 38% of packaging in a typical shopping basket cannot be recycled, according to an investigation by the Local Government Association (LGA).

However, the LGA has found a small improvement since October 2007, when an equivalent study put the figure at 40%.

The LGA commissioned the British Market Research Bureau to buy a set of common food items from eight different retailers. It found that Lidl's products came in the most packaging, weighing in with an 813-gram total. Lidl and Marks & Spencer tied for the highest proportion of packaging that could not be recycled, at 62%.

Local retailers and market traders fared better in the study, using less packaging by weight and more that could be recycled than the supermarket chains.

"Families will be pleased to see that more packaging in their shopping baskets can now be recycled," said LGA Environment Board chairman, councillor Paul Bettison. "However, this survey shows there is still a lot further to go."

"Some packaging is often needed, particularly to prevent food becoming spoilt and then ending up in landfill sites. Many retailers are also taking some very positive environmental initiatives."

Responding to the research, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) criticised the LGA for having examined only 29 products. It called on local authorities to encourage recycling, rather than look for "ways to pile new costs on hard-pressed customers and retailers".

"The report takes a very simplistic view of environmental management as packaging cannot simply be defined as 'recyclable' or 'not recyclable'," said BRC director-general Stephen Robertson. "This differs from one area to another depending on the policies and facilities of each local authority."

"Rather than looking for new ways to tap retailers and, in turn, hard-pressed customers for extra cash local authorities would make a more positive contribution by developing their recycling facilities and increasing and standardising the range of materials they will accept for recycling," he said.