ASDA and their recycling claims - just how green is ASDA?

It appears I have managed to upset some of the management at ASDA by tweeting about their packaging that cannot be recycled and how annoying this is.

Apparently I am to be sent a big report - woooo.  Seriously, I look forward to it because it isn't often a corporate giant responds to the little lone voice.

Anyway, now from the corporate spin back to reality.

Last night I decided on cooking chicken in a tomato and onion sauc served on a bed of leeks with roasted vine tomatoes and olives.

The packaging the baby leeks came in states: "Bag plastic not currently recycled."

The packaging the vine tomatoes came in states: "Punnet plastic check local recycling.  Film plastic not currently recycled."

The packaging the chicken came in states: "Sleeve card widely recycled, tray metal check local recycling and film plastic not currently recycled."



So, half of the packaging from one meal I have had to throw into landfill and two thirds of the remaining half is dependent on the council.

This simply is not good enough.

Here is the waste statement from ASDAs green section on their website:

We’ve set ourselves the target of sending zero waste to landfill by 2010; and not just in our stores, but across all of the ASDA and George businesses, including depots and offices.

Landfilling is damaging to the environment, because the energy and materials required to make the things we throw away are lost instead of being recycled. What’s worse, biodegradable waste in landfill breaks down to produce greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide, which contribute to global warming.

By encouraging everyone at ASDA to reduce waste, and by finding innovative uses for the things we usually throw away, we can save money and vital natural resources – making our business kinder to the planet. And by reducing our costs, we’re able to pass our savings on to our customers.

ASDA do also call for the end of postcode lottery recycling, that's easy for them to say especially given that they don't even bother ensuring all of their own packaging can be recycled. 

Don't do what I do, do what I say is obviously the ASDA Walmart way.

There is a grading system and coding for plastics to be recycled and often councils will only do the first two on this list here because of the economics.  However, why don't we look at introducing recycling for business as well (a campaign I persuaded Lynne Featherstone MP to run back in 2005/06) then given the volume coming through each council area it should all become easier and more economical.
The supermarkets have to be one of the biggest offenders, if my one trip yesterday proved nything it proved that although the supermarkets listen to criticism on social media outlets such as twitter, they don't follow through all of the way, otherwise my blog post could never have been written in the first place.
 
ASDA - right of reply?  I will happily post a reply up here unedited in response.