Sainsbury’s is quietly getting rid of all of its remaining recycling points at around 250 branches around the UK fanning fears the move could lead to more fly-tipping.
The supermarket has been closing centres which recycle metal cans, glass, plastic and paper based around its car parks, despite pleas from locals and politicians.
It comes two years after Sainsbury’s was one of the main sponsors of the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.
Sainsbury’s has not made any announcement about the closures, reports the Times.
How will this affect YOU? Email [email protected]
The supermarket’s website says: ‘We care about our planet and the effect that both we, and our global suppliers, have on the environment. One of our core values is respect for our environment.’
Locals have been expressing their disappointment, with several saying that the removal of recycling banks has led to more flytipping, leaving sites an eyesore.
This picture reportedly shows fly tipping in the car park behind a Sainsbury’s store
Recycling dumped beside overflown bins behind a Sainsbury’s in Muirend, Glasgow
Sainsbury’s is quietly getting rid of all of its remaining recycling points at around 250 branches
‘So gutted to read on a notice on the glass recycling facility that they will no longer be providing this service,’ one said about the Liphook centre.
Others shared photos of fly tipping with bags of recyclables strewn carelessly.
‘So much for environmental concern,’ one wrote on X, formerly Twitter, describing the move as ‘shocking’.
‘This move not only places more reliance on kerbside recycling but also reduces the opportunity for those who may not have kerbside recycling services, such as residents in flats,’ said Daniel Webb, founder of the campaign group Everyday Plastic, added.
A Sainsbury’s spokesman told MailOnline: ‘We want to focus on the areas where we can make the biggest difference and support our customers in their efforts to help the planet.
‘As recycling of materials such as glass and cardboard is available from home with local councils, we’re prioritising services at our stores that people cannot get elsewhere.
‘For example, all our supermarkets offer flexible plastic recycling.’
Locals have been disappointed to hear the news, especially in light of the supermarket’s care for the environment
They said that in all Sainsbury’s supermarkets, customers can recycle flexible plastic packaging – including crisp packets, food pouches, salad bags, biscuit and cake wrappers, as well as carrier bags, clothes hangers and batteries.
The supermarket said they donate around 5,000 tons of clothing every year through Oxfam donation banks located in over 340 store car parks.
And recently they launched cardboard hangers for Tu baby clothing so customers can recycle their hangers at home.
Other supermarkets which offer recycling services at certain stores include Asda, Tesco, Aldi and Morrisons.
This comes after councils clamping down on recycling bank ‘fly-tippers’ ignited outrage after installing spy cameras to catch people leaving bags of items next to the bins – despite residents’ claims that they are always full.
Local authorities have set up surveillance cameras – some with hi-tech number plate-recognition software – and issued fines to people caught leaving items of donated clothing and recycling next to the bins.
Cash-strapped civic chiefs insist their efforts are about clearing up the streets and tackling the ‘horrifying’ hotspots where rubbish ‘blights’ their community, costing councils nationally an estimated £60million a year.
But furious taxpayers have lashed out at the move, branding it ‘cynical’ and ‘scandalous’, amid claims some recycling bins are ‘always full and never emptied’.