83% of Brits are "confused" about which plastic can and can't be recycled, according to a new survey. 66% of the 2,078 men and women interviewed online across the UK also said they would like their Christmas turkey to be "wrapped in compostable plastic". The data, collected online by Populus on 18 and 19 December, also showed that 78% of women and 66% of men "feel guilty" about the amount of plastic waste they produce during Christmas time.
TIPA, the Israeli company which commissioned the survey, seeks to offer "viable compostable, flexible packaging solutions" to what they call the "plastic waste challenge".
"The world has produced an estimated 8.3 billon mega tons of plastic since 1950, almost none of which has been successfully recycled. More importantly, recycling plastic only delays its eventual disposal or incineration. When a mere 9% of plastic is recycled, virgin plastics are still required to create new products with the recycled material," Daphna Nissenboum, CEO and co-founder of TIPA, said.
She also pointed out that "compostable products break down into organic materials in a home, community or industrial composter".
"'With consumer education and the right infrastructure, compostable materials could replace the recyclable and non-recycled conventional flexible plastic. By transforming waste into compost, we can make a real difference in reducing the amount of plastic waste lingering in landfills and improve the capture and value derived from organic waste,'" Nizzenboum said.
Daphna Nissenbaum and Tal Neuman founded TIPA in 2010 arguing that packaging "should behave just like an orange peel, so nature won’t even notice we’re here".