Hovis and TerraCycle Launch Bread Bag Recycling Scheme

Hovis and TerraCycle Launch Bread Bag Recycling Scheme

Hovis has joined forces with Terracycle to launch a bread bag recycling scheme. Hovis recently started putting clearer recycling instructions on their labels, after research they commissioned found that one third of people find recycling difficult because they’re not sure what they can recycle. Add this to the fact that only one in ten local authorities recycle bread bags and you can see why consumers who want to do the right thing have such a problem.

UK-wide collection points will be introduced

Hovis and TerraCycle want to make it easier for people to recycle bread bags at home or in their community. As part of the recycling scheme, a network of bread bag recycling points will be introduced across the UK. Community groups and willing individuals will be encouraged to set up collection points in their communities. Once collected, the bags can be sent to TerraCycle for free where they’ll be recycled.

How can consumers recycle their bread bags?

• They can register as a private collector and collect their bags at home and get free postage labels to send them to TerraCycle.
• They can go onto the TerraCycle website and find their nearest collection point on a map.

What will happen to the bread bags once they’re recycled?

Consumers can send off plastic bread bags from any brand to TerraCycle, where they’ll be shredded and turned into plastic pellets or flakes. The plastic will then be used to make new items like outdoor furniture.

A huge opportunity to change behaviour

The CEO of Hovis said the company is delighted to be working with Terracycle to launch the scheme to make it easier for people to recycle bread bags. He added that he hopes the scheme gives a boost to the overall efforts to increase plastic recycling, given the increasing concern about plastic pollution.

The general manager of for TerraCycle Europe said that it’s great to be working with Hovis to increase plastic recycling. She added that many families eat bread every day, so there is a huge opportunity to change people’s behaviour around bread bag recycling.

Hovis hopes that others in the bread industry follow suit. Its partnership with TerraCycle is just one of several environmental initiatives that the company has introduced. It’s trialling electric bread delivery vans, more efficient delivery route planning, and it has joined the Plastic Pact, a collaboration that brings together the government, businesses, and other organisations to create a circular economy for plastics and tackle the problem of plastic waste.