Working with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), Dairy brand The Collective has found a solution to an issue with the recyclability of its black plastic lids.
From October, the lids on the brand’s 450g and 900g yoghurt tubs will incorporate a special pigment that makes them detectable across UK recycling plants, meaning consumers can recycle the black lids with their generic plastic recycling.
“Infrared sensors in recycling plants don’t normally pick up black plastic on conveyor belts,” says Amelia Harvey, co-founder at The Collective. “This means our lids are not usually detected, classed as residual waste and incinerated. Now the lids are being made with a new green pigment that can be picked up by plant sensors and will be recycled alongside The Collective’s polypropylene pots.”
“WRAP is delighted to have worked with The Collective helping them to implement their first-to-market black pigment technology, leading the way in the grocery sector,” adds WRAP’s plastic specialist Bernard Chase. “In order to help meet the challenging targets set down in the UK Plastics Pact, WRAP hopes that other businesses in the sector may soon follow the lead set by The Collective in adopting this forward-thinking technology”.
