Binman says which bin crisp packets and chocolate wrappers should go

A binman has settled the debate on which bin should be used when disposing of empty crisp packets and chocolate wrappers. The UK gets through more than eight billion packets of crisps every year, according to Statista, which also predicts that figure will rise to more than 11 billion annually by 2030 — equating to upwards of 30 million packets every single day.

Britain also ranks amongst the top five chocolate-consuming nations in the world, so we are equally generating a staggering quantity of chocolate wrappers. Yet while the recycling of food packaging across the UK has improved significantly in recent years, there remains no straightforward way to recycle crisp and chocolate wrappers.

Contemporary crisp and chocolate packets frequently comprise multiple layers and are commonly manufactured from polypropylene or polyethylene with an aluminium coating — material you may more readily recognise as “soft plastics”.

The ability to recycle this type of material on a large scale remains severely restricted, despite most local councils now offering kerbside collection for hard plastics, reports Wales Online.

Environmental charity WRAP states: “There is still change that needs to take place for widespread roll-out of recycling collections at kerbside for plastic bags and wrappings.”

That said, recycling policies do differ considerably between councils across the UK, and some authorities are capable of collecting soft plastics for recycling — so it is always worth checking precisely what your local council will and will not accept.

Britain’s most renowned refuse collector, who operates under the name The No1 Binman on TikTok where he provides advice to more than 170,000 followers, has now explained what should be done with crisp and chocolate packets. “They do not go in any of your recycling bins,” says The No1 Binman, whose real name is Ashley.

“A crisp packet, yes it can be recycled but you need to take it [to a supermarket]. Most supermarkets take them. And I know that means going to the supermarket with empty crisp packets to put them in their bins but if you’re asking the question of where they get recycled – that is where.

“Otherwise, you can put them in your general waste bin and they will get collected there. But if you’re looking to recycle crisp packets, then it goes in the bins in the supermarket. It’s the same for chocolate wrappers, because it’s such a thin plastic and made from different materials.”

In 2023, the BBC revealed how crisp packets dating back to the 1960s were found washed up on a Norfolk beach, providing a sobering illustration of precisely how long plastics can persist. Amongst the discoveries were pre-decimalisation packets of Golden Wonder crisps, displaying a price of 5d, together with 2d Spangles sweets.