We hear so much about the impact of plastic on our planet, particularly on the oceans but plastic comes in many forms and some can be easily recycled and others are much more difficult.  To be honest, a plastic free shop is almost impossible, especially for cooked food and raw meat and fish.  But some plastic is easy to recycle so here is a very simplified guide:

PET
(Polyethylene Terephthlate)
This is the clear plastic of soft drinks bottles, fruit & veg trays.  This is easy to recycle into more of the same, so as long as you put it in the right bin, it is fine.

HDPE
(High density polyethylene)
This is from milk cartons, some yoghurt pots and cleaning products
Again, easy to recycle.

Polypropylene
(PP)
From margarine tubs and microwave meal trays
Easy to recycle, provided clean

Most other plastic is difficult or impossible to recycle, this includes salad bags, shopping bags, crisp packet and sauce bottles.  This is mainly because they are composite plastics, designed to keep the contents safe and fit to eat for as long as possible.

A company called Terracycle collects and recycles crisp packets, this is separate from the local council kerbside recycling.  We hope to set up a recycling centre for these when the Centre reopens, they are collected and passed on to Howbridge School who then send them to Terracycle.

To do our bit for the environment we can ensure where possible we buy loose veg and fruit and find out which shops allow you to bring containers to refill.