CPI criticises parts of ‘wishcycling’ coverage

The Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) has criticised parts of the BBC's coverage of the government's upcoming ‘wishcycling’ guidance, specifically in relation to pizza boxes and coffee cups.

The CPI, a trade association representing the UK's Paper-based Industries, accused the BBC of not painting "an accurate picture regarding the recyclability of these items".

In a guidance article, the BBC said pizza boxes can often be greasy and stained with food and thus should not be recycled.

The CPI clapped back at this stating that the paper industries stance is clear on the issue. "Paper containing stains or even traces of food, which are unavoidable in collection of post-consumer material and do not fully soak the paper, is acceptable," the CPI said.

It added: "Additionally well-known pizza chains Dominos and Pizza Hut have previously stated that their pizza boxes are made from fully recyclable materials. It is only in the case that the boxes contain food waste or stains that fully soak through the paper that they cannot be recycled."

The BBC article also said disposable coffee cups are often made of mixed materials like paper and plastic. "If this is the case, they can't be recycled as it can be too difficult to separate the materials, but said the lids can be recycled," the BBC said.

The CPI however again disagreed with this, saying that the UK has sufficient reprocessing capacity to recycle all the paper coffee cups used in the UK.

"Coffee cups can be currently recycled across the country. They are usually disposed of away from home and collected separately being directed to one of the growing numbers of paper cup recycling points across the UK," the association remarked.

It added: "In addition to this a mandatory cup takeback scheme has been proposed as part of Defra's EP reforms".

Coffee cups can be currently recycled across the country

Pizza boxes and coffee cups are high profile examples of ‘recycling confusion’, with much coverage on the issue over the years (see letsrecycle.com story).

A string of councils count the material as contamination, including Spelthorne borough council and Bristol city council, as just some examples.

Slough council told letsrecycle.com last year: "We don't have time to check the individual boxes to ensure it is only a bit of staining and if it gets too complicated for residents, it makes it difficult for them to follow."

However, the leading suppliers of takeaway pizzas such as Domino's and Pizza Hut say their boxes are recyclable. The packaging often features a recycling logo.

it is this type of confusion the government is hoping to clear up with its upcoming guidance and via consistency reforms. However, the recent news on wishcycling has been unwelcomed in other sectors too, with many material-specific companies expressing concerns the move could see tonnage recycled fall dramatically.

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