Shrinking the Silence

I was offline for most of Plastic Free July. Not intentionally, I just found myself momentarily without the time to put into this. Which also tends to be the reason why we can't make the better choices our planet needs us to make. Life is busy, a small convenience can grant a win against the passage of time. Re-thinking your way of life and implementing real, effective changes is pretty hard work. Who among us really has time for that? All of us and none of us! We can do the little things but the bigger things will usually take a back seat because saving the planet doesn't pay the bills.

But I did buy a shrinker. A small, slightly absurd device that compacts soft plastics into neat little bundles. When the supermarkets stopped giving out as many free carrier bags as we needed, some of us cheered and some of us complained. For me, it was a sign that there were some people who had real power to change things and did so for the better. These days certain products will arrive bagged to avoid cross-contamination. These make great liners for the shrinker and it feels like I'm doing the very best I can with the plastic that I can't reject.

The shrinker is 24cm in height and is made from 100% recycled plastic (I love the idea of solving the plastic problem by solving the plastic problem!). Once you've emptied and if necessary cleaned your plastic packaging you just put it in the top and insert the lockable plunger to compact your waste. It took me a couple of goes to end up with a nicely compressed bundle of plastic, but once you've developed your technique it works really well. You should check with your preferred collection point which plastics can be recycled, but I take mine to Tesco and there's very little you can't put in there.

Wholly Shrink! Shrinker

a bag of shrunker plastic

Left: The Shrinker and Right: The resulting bundle, ready to go to soft plastics collection point

It felt hopeful, efficient and satisfying. It was a real step towards a reduced waste lifestyle. I'd love to say that zero waste was the goal, but right now that doesn't seem so achievable. So, all my plastic was bagged and collected. Before it can be recycled it would need to be sorted, but I'd done my bit. Job done, right?

Then came the question: Where does it all go? I already knew that it wouldn't all be destined for a new life as something usable or wearable, or anything else useful. With some of the technology used in this process still in its infancy, I knew that inevitably some of my hard-saved plastic would still end up being incinerated to produce energy. But what was really happening to my bundle once I'd let it go?

Tesco responded — politely, and off the record. They say soft plastics are recycled into bin liners and planters for schools. Some food trays become new ready meal trays. They’re exploring long-term solutions. Their Sustainability Report outlines impressive progress: 87% of Own Brand packaging is kerbside recyclable, and surplus food is being redistributed at scale. These are definitely the kind of moves we should be seeing from other mammoth organisations like Tesco.

But it doesn’t say how much soft plastic is incinerated. Or what emissions that might create.

So I’m still wondering:

• How many of my shrinker bundles become something useful?

• How much becomes energy?

• And how much is just a comforting ritual for the eco-anxious?

I bought a shrinker to make my soft plastic waste more manageable — and more visible. Tesco are clearly serious about achieving a circular economy. But currently it's most likely that a large chunk is incinerated. It's great that these plastics are not headed straight for landfill. But it’s not exactly circular. Burning plastic releases CO₂, dioxins, and other toxins. Even with energy recovery, it’s a short-term fix with potentially long-term consequences. But it's a problem that Tesco are leading the way in addressing.

Ultimately, whilst real progress has been made in this area, there is a lot still to do to eliminate the risks posed by everyday plastics. But to dismiss the existing infrastructure as greenwashing may prolong the problem. The best thing we can do is engage with the recycling programmes, to show there is not only a need but a willingness to reduce and eventually eliminate single-use plastics.