Helga’s is encouraging Australians to make the switch to recycling soft plastics this National Recycling Week (8-14 November).
Helga’s acknowledges that plastic waste is a big challenge. The brand, however, assures consumers that it’s 100% committed to being kinder to the planet.
For this reason, Helga’s has 100% recyclable packaging for its loaves, rolls and wraps through REDcycle. The brand also has 100% recyclable cardboard bread tags across its range.
Aussies are keen to recycle, says Helga’s, but there is confusion around what’s recyclable and how to recycle it.
New research by Helga’s has found that almost half (46%) of bread shoppers surveyed don’t recycle their bread bags.
Of the 46% that don’t recycle their bread bags, 75% said they didn’t know they could.
Among the half (54%) that do recycle, there is still a significant amount of confusion about how to recycle. Less than half of the respondents use the REDcycle bins, designated for soft plastic recycling.
To show Aussies how simple and easy it can be to recycle their soft plastics, Helga’s recruited two families to try a week-long experiment, using Helga’s bread bags to collect soft plastics for recycling. Over the week, the families collectively filled eight bread bags and returned them to REDcycle for recycling.
“By designing for recycling and communicating clearly, Helga’s can help consumers by educating them on how to best participate in and understand recycling options available for their plastic packaging,” says Helga’s Head of Retail Marketing & Category Belinda Elworthy.
“To be kinder to our planet, we’re encouraging Helga’s lovers to make small changes; starting with collecting and recycling bread bags, which could help to recycle more than 62 million bags per year.”
The Blair family, comprised of Haley Blair, Benjamin Saunders and their two children took on the experiment along with the Taylor family, comprised of Arielle, Mark and their eight children. Both families were not aware soft plastics could be recycled prior to the experiment and documented their journey over a week.
Both families have pledged to continue their new habit after seeing how much soft plastic they were throwing away.