Nationally, around 6% of soft plastics (bags and wrapping) are recycled. Supermarkets offer roll pallets and bins for soft plastic collection and recycling, but few households use the service. To make a real impact, soft plastics should be collected from the kerbside.
There is no doubt that recycling soft plastic instead of making virgin plastic saves energy. One commonly quoted figure is about 5.8 kWh saved per kg of recycled plastic, though savings vary by polymer and process.
Adding soft plastics to the kerbside recycling offer, which currently includes paper and card, tins, glass, hard plastic and food waste, would benefit the environment an reduce the carbon footprint of households and the county.
The storage and collection methods are important, as soft plastic is of course very light and could easily blow away, where, if ending up in rhynes, drains and water courses, could cause pollution. Volumes are also relativity high, since soft plastics are ubiquitous in food, groceries, clothing and postage. There are practical solutions, such as bags with lids.
The South West is leading on kerbside soft plastic collection, with North Somerset and Bristol already offering the service. We would like Somerset Council to adopt kerbside soft plastic collection.
