As I embark on this journey of a less waste lifestyle, I quite often get frustrated and confused by it all.

Things just aren’t so black and white, are they ?

There is a huge mountain of information out there and reading through it all ( often contradictory ) takes ages …

What I have found quite useful recently though, is asking the brands questions directly on twitter. I have to say, most of them are quite responsive.

My tweet :

Got a @HelloFreshUK delivery today and found this inside, along with lots of other packaging. Great that it is using recycled plastics for the insulation but what about the bag itself ? And is it recyclable ? It isn’t very clear. What about rest of packaging ? #confusedcustomer

Hi,

The plastic liner in the box is not recyclable.

This is because it’s already been through the recycling process several times and has reached the end of its lifetime. The rest of the clear plastic packaging is recyclable.

However, the ease with which you can recycle it depends on your local council and their policies on plastic recycling.

We are working hard to reduce plastics this year and are in the process of switching to skin packs instead of plastic containers.

Alongside this, we’re phasing out non-clear plastics in the boxes so that all the plastic in the box can be recycled.

That kind of got my question answered.

It is great that they used recycled material for the lining but what am I suppose to do with it after ? Dump it in the landfill ? If each customer gets one of these bulky plastic sheets per order, that would create a huge amount of trash !

If Hello Fresh insists on using this un-recyclable material for their packaging, shouldn’t they at least have some sort of take back scheme, so they can perhaps re-use it or something ? ( My next question to Hello Fresh )

What are your thoughts ? Are retailers doing enough to eliminate their plastic waste ?