The Recycling Association has branded both Pringles tubes and Lucozade Sport bottles as “villains” of the recycling world.
Named in a list of products that pose the biggest challenges for reuse, the items were picked due to their complex parts, which make them hard for recycling machines to dismantle.
According to the association, Pringles packaging is particularly difficult for recycling due to its metal base, plastic cap, metal lid, and foil-lined sleeve.
Lucozade bottles were also named because they are enclosed in a sleeve that is made from a different kind of plastic.
Simon Ellin, CEO of the UK Recycling Association said that “improvements are desperately needed in product design.”
Other offenders of poor design include cleaning spray bottles, plastic food trays, and whiskey packaging.
In regards to the latter item Ellin said, “it grieves me to say this as one who likes his whisky but whisky causes us problems. The metal bottom and top to the sleeve, the glass bottle, the metal cap… very hard for us.”
Easily-recycled products included plastic milk bottles, ringpull cans and Japanese yoghurt drinks.
Kellogs, owner of Pringles stated that there was actually an advantage to its design in that, “all parts of a Pringles can act as a barrier to keep [crisps] fresh. That means a long shelf life, which minimises food waste.”
Lucozade stated that it was actively working to reduce carbon emissions and added that it recognises its “responsibility to limit our impact on the environment and welcome any technological breathroughs that support this ambition.”
Later in the summer Prince Charles is to launch a £1.5 million prize for inventors to devise products that are both practical and easily recycled.
