Which? announces today that it is urging supermarkets and manufacturers to make refillable personal care and cleaning products more widely available to customers.
Which? is calling on brands and supermarkets to make refillable products more widely available to customers. Recycling labels should also be provided on all grocery products so that people know how they can responsibly dispose of the items they use.
The consumer champion also wants to see recycling labels on all products so consumers are better informed on how to recycle the packaging they use and wants brands to indicate if their products are available as refills to help consumers save money and cut their plastic waste.
Jane Bevis, Chair of OPRL said: “Brands and retailers have been working hard on bringing refillable solutions to market over the last couple of years and we’re now starting to see these roll out. Just as in the early days of recycling services 12 years ago, these new developments need communicating clearly and consistently to consumers to help them adopt the new behaviours needed. Our new Refill labels will do just that – and should be used alongside our well established Recycling labels so consumers know how to dispose them correctly at end of life.”
“Quite rightly many refill packs are made from lightweight materials. Although these formats are currently difficult to recycle there is a lot of work going on under the aegis of The UK Plastic Pact where brands and retailers, supported by OPRL and WRAP, are working to provide solutions ahead of the Government’s reform of recycling collections and producer responsibility. We expect to see a step change in recyclability of soft plastics within the next year.”
Which? research shows there is demand and savings to be had for consumers who switch to refills. However, many shoppers have trouble finding them on supermarket shelves and a lack of clear labelling means consumers may be unaware that a refillable option is available.
