Image inspiration - Leonora Carrington - link
It's a simple concept, but a remarkably effective one. Rather than standing in front of a poster boring people about what they should be doing, we give them something practical to engage with. They make the decisions, we discuss the results and occasionally we're able to explain why something that looks perfectly recyclable isn't necessarily suitable for our recycling system.
Judging by the participation and interest we've experienced throughout the week, it works. I'm delighted to say that every year, the general level of awareness appears to improve a little; not a dramatic transformation - we haven't suddenly produced an entire generation of recycling experts but there's a noticeable increase in the number of students interested in what happens to their waste, why certain materials are accepted and why others are rejected.
More encouragingly, we're seeing greater curiosity about the packaging itself. Why is one plastic container recyclable and another not? Why can seemingly identical packaging require different disposal routes and why do manufacturers continue to produce packaging that causes problems for the recycling industry? All good questions and they're questions our industry welcomes.
We can invest millions in collection vehicles, processing facilities and recycling technology, but if the person disposing of the packaging doesn't understand what happens next, we're already making the process unnecessarily difficult and sometimes, even when they do understand, the packaging itself conspires against them.
The Pringles Problem – A Frankenstein That Refuses to Die
Few products have better demonstrated the frustrations of packaging design than the infamous Pringles tube. For years, this peculiar creation has combined cardboard, metal, plastic and foil into a single piece of packaging. A masterpiece of product protection but something of a Frankenstein's monster when it comes to recycling.
Over the last year, we've been explaining to students that Pringles has been developing and introducing a redesigned, predominantly paper-based tube, replacing the troublesome metal base and making the packaging far more compatible with conventional paper recycling systems and to be fair, there is evidence that this is happening. The redesigned tube was introduced into the UK market in 2024. It's approximately 90% paper rather than strictly mono-material, but it's a significant improvement over its predecessor. The plastic lid and protective seal still need to be dealt with separately, according to the appropriate local recycling instructions.
The technology has clearly been developed, substantial investment has been made and the redesigned tubes have entered the marketplace but having spent the week explaining all this to Oxford's newest students, I went into Sainsbury's on Saturday, only to discover shelves stacked with the familiar old Frankenstein tubes, apparently alive and well.
I'm not suggesting that manufacturers can transform their production and distribution systems overnight, however, there's something frustrating about explaining the progress being made in recyclable packaging while the very product you're discussing continues to demonstrate the problem. How long should it take for improved packaging design to replace its less recyclable predecessor on our supermarket shelves? It begs the question whether pEPR is having any effect?
Innovation is welcome. Implementation is what ultimately matters and until then, our old friend Frankenstein remains a useful exhibit on the miniature MRF conveyor.
Mentos – When Recyclable Packaging Becomes Difficult to Recycle
Whilst discussing crap packaging design, there's another little frustration worth mentioning. Certain Mentos gum containers, along with packaging produced by other manufacturers, demonstrate another particularly irritating habit: taking an otherwise recyclable plastic container and wrapping it in another, thin layer of plastic. Presumably for presentation, branding, tamper evidence or some combination of the three but unfortunately, what might look perfectly sensible on a supermarket shelf can create problems once it reaches a Materials Recovery Facility. Modern MRFs increasingly rely on sophisticated optical sorting equipment, using near-infrared technology to identify different polymers as they travel along conveyor belts. The equipment needs to recognise what it's looking at, however, when a recyclable plastic container is covered by another plastic film, potentially manufactured from a different polymer, the scanner may detect the outer material rather than the container beneath it resulting in a perfectly recyclable container being misidentified, incorrectly sorted or rejected altogether.
Not every sleeved container will suffer this fate. The materials used, the coverage of the sleeve and the capabilities of the sorting equipment all influence the outcome. Nevertheless, it's a recognised problem and one that better packaging design can help avoid.
It's a wonderful example of how a tiny packaging decision, probably made thousands of miles away from the nearest recycling facility, can have consequences throughout the recovery process. We can spend considerable amounts of money investing in collection systems, optical sorting equipment and recycling infrastructure, only for a few grams of unnecessary plastic packaging to compromise the whole exercise. Surely, in 2026, designing packaging that can actually pass through the recycling systems we've already built shouldn't be too much to ask of Perfetti Van Melle (Mentos), Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Reckitt and others?
Recyclable Doesn't Necessarily Mean Recycled
This is perhaps one of the most important messages we try to communicate during our engagement events. Just because something carries a recycling symbol doesn't mean that placing it in a recycling bin guarantees it will be recycled. Even the familiar three-arrow recycling symbol can indicate that a material is technically recyclable, rather than confirming that it will be accepted by a particular collection scheme. Clear disposal instructions are far more useful, although local arrangements must still be considered. A Materials Recovery Facility isn't a magical machine capable of turning every discarded material into something useful, it's a sorting facility. Its purpose is to separate recoverable materials into grades that can be supplied to reprocessors. However, those materials must meet appropriate quality specifications and, ultimately, there must be someone willing and able to use them.
I've spent more than forty years working in the waste industry, and one principle has remained remarkably consistent throughout that time. A recycling facility is only ever as effective as the markets available for the materials it produces. Without viable outlets for recovered materials, all the sophisticated sorting equipment in the world cannot deliver a sustainable recycling system which makes good packaging design, effective separation and education all the more important.
Education Is a Two-Way Street
Oxford attracts students from across Britain and around the world, many of whom arrive having experienced completely different recycling arrangements. What was acceptable in a recycling bin at home might not be acceptable in their college. That's not necessarily because either system is wrong. Different collection and processing arrangements can mean different materials are accepted. Our job is to explain what happens here, why our system operates as it does and how students can help us recover the greatest possible amount of useful material.
The questions students ask, particularly about packaging, provide a useful insight into how people understand recycling and where the confusion lies. Increasingly, that confusion isn't simply about which bin to use. It's about why the packaging was designed that way in the first place. We continually ask consumers to recycle more effectively, but surely manufacturers must take equal responsibility for ensuring that the products and packaging they place on the market can actually be recovered. There's little point telling someone to recycle responsibly if the packaging they're holding has been designed in a way that makes responsible recycling unnecessarily difficult.
An Encouraging Week
After spending the week meeting students across Oxford's colleges, as ever, I'm left feeling genuinely encouraged. Not because everyone knows precisely what goes where. They don't, and I wouldn't expect them to but because so many are prepared to participate, ask questions and understand a little more about the materials they consume and discard.
If we can encourage students to think twice about what they place in a recycling bin and perhaps even question the packaging they purchase in the first place, we're achieving something worthwhile, and if those questions eventually influence the businesses manufacturing and selling the products, so much the better. Ultimately, successful recycling isn't just about collections, vehicles, MRFs and impressive percentages, it's about people, products, infrastructure and markets all working together.
Sometimes the best place to start that conversation is with a group of freshers, a miniature conveyor belt and a Pringles tube that really ought to have retired by now. A thoroughly enjoyable week, and my thanks to the colleges, students and colleague (TT) who made it possible. More like this (Oxford) - link - more like this (MRF) - link - more like this (Unilever) - link
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