Tesco and Sainsbury’s under fire for misleading in-store recycling scheme

“The take-back schemes are being presented as a solution, which is diverting attention from the main issue that can’t be overlooked: far too much unnecessary plastic packaging is being produced,” she said.

Sainsbury’s said it has recently improved its signage to help encourage more customers to recycle soft plastic waste in its stores, including which items are accepted and the condition they should ideally be in to allow the supermarket to recycle them.

A spokesperson said: “We’re always seeking ways to positively manage the end of life of our packaging.

“We collect a small volume of flexible plastic overall in-store. The majority is in good condition and so is recycled.

“However, when materials are soiled or damaged, then they may need to be converted for energy, which is managed by our supplier. Feedback is important to us and we’d welcome any suggestions on how we can improve our efforts in this area.”

Tesco said that while the investigation found materials were sent to an accredited processing site in Turkey, this was a supplier error.

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We have a clear plan to remove packaging wherever possible and reducing, reusing and recycling it where we can’t.

“We work hard to recycle the materials we collect, for example our Bags for Life, and in some cases we are even able to use it for projects such as fruit and vegetable planters donated to schools or park benches donated to the NHS.

“Where it is not possible to recycle the collected plastic, we put it to alternative uses to avoid these materials going to landfill, for example using it for energy recovery.

“We know there is a lot more progress to be made, and the infrastructure to recycle soft plastics at scale in the UK and the EU still has a way to go.”