Packaging petition sees crisps facing the crunch

Walkers, the UK’s largest manufacturer of crisps, will be presented with a petition on August 7 asking it to change its non-recyclable packaging.

The petition, hosted on digital campaign site 38degrees and started by Cardiff-based Geraint Ashcroft, calls for Walkers to change its pack material to “one which is recyclable or even more preferably a non-plastic, environmentally-friendly” alternative.

The call for support outlines the environmental impact of the six billion – currently non-recyclable – crisp packets eaten in the UK annually, that end up as landfill or litter.

Walkers says that it is working on more sustainable alternatives for its packets, which are currently made of metallised film. 

It has pledged to achieve 100 per cent recyclable, compostable or biodegradable packaging by 2025.

It is piloting plant-based, bio-plastic bags in three global loactions. The bags are produced from renewable resources and can be composted in industrial composting facilities.

It is also collaborating with biotechnology firm, Danimer Scientific, to develop biodegradable film resins that break down in any end-of-life environment.

Despite the pledges, Ashcroft says the changes do not come soon enough.

"The problem is now that more and more manufacturers are using the same packaging and not just the crisp industry," he told the BBC earlier this year.

"Let's hope we can get the 2025 date brought forward and get more manufacturers to change their packaging."