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Binman shares which bin to use for crisp packets and snack wrappers

The UK consumes more than eight billion packets of crisps annually, but there is no simple way to recycle the packaging.

[Woman's hand picking up yellow potato chips inside a bag of snacks.]

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Crisp packets are tricky to recycle properly(Image: Yannasakamon Thamjamrassri via Getty Images)

A bin collector has offered the final word on which bin to use when throwing away crisp packets and chocolate wrappers. Britain gets through more than eight billion bags of crisps each year, data from Statista shows, with projections suggesting we'll consume over 11 billion annually by 2030.

That works out at more than 30 million packets every single day. The UK also features amongst the world's top five chocolate-eating nations, which means we're also disposing of a vast quantity of chocolate wrappers. Yet, while food packaging recycling across the UK has improved significantly in recent years, there's still no straightforward way to recycle crisp and chocolate wrappers.

Today's crisp and chocolate packets and wrappers often consist of several layers and are usually made from polypropylene or polyethylene with an aluminium lining. You might know this better as "soft plastics".

And the ability to recycle this kind of material on a widespread scale is still restricted, even though most local authorities now offer hard plastic recycling collections.

Environmental charity WRAP explains: "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 guidelines differ between councils throughout the UK and some authorities can collect soft plastics for recycling, so you should always verify what your local council accepts and doesn't accept for recycling.

Britain's most well-known refuse collector, Ashley also known as The No1 Binman on TikTok, where he offers advice to over 170,000 followers, has now set the record straight on disposing of crisp and chocolate wrappers, reports Wales Online.

[A selection of crisps and snacks are seen on a newsagent shelf in London]

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The UK gets through more than eight billion packets of crisps a year but do you know how to recycle them?(Image: Leon Neal/Getty)

He said: "They do not go in any of your recycling bins,. 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 drew attention to how crisp packets dating back to the 1960s were found washed up on a Norfolk beach, providing a sobering illustration of plastic's longevity.

The discoveries included pre-decimalisation Golden Wonder crisp packets priced at 5d, along with 2d Spangles sweets.

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