Recycling involves the collecting and processing of materials that are usually considered as trash by turning them into new products. Recycling is beneficial to the environment as we've always heard. Food wrapping or food packaging on the other hand is the process of enclosing food to protect it from tampering or contamination from external sources. Active packaging is the mostly used method for food wrapping, and it is used for preserving food products. When food is wrapped or packaged, it protects and offers tampering resistance. It may have a facts label and carry other information(like ingredients and shelf-life) about the food being offered.

There are different types of food wrappings they include: Aluminum Foil, Plastic wrap, Reusable Plastic Bags, Air-tight Containers, Freezer Paper, Waxed Paper, Parchment Paper and Vacuum sealers. These food wrappings are specific to different kinds of food(they have peculiar purposes).

Now to answer the question, Can food wrappers be recycled? The answer - Yes and No. This is because a soft plastic that contained water or a drink can be recycled while a candy wrapper cannot. Research has shown that nearly one-third of all domestic waste(what goes into the bin) is food packaging. 

In order to identify what we can and cannot recycle, some products come with a description that shows how they should be disposed. These labels are referred to as ‘facts labels’. They are sometimes placed at the bottom of the products like the plastic water bottles. You can check the wrappings of food to know more about identifying reusable wrappings and if it is recyclable. Types of recyclables are:

• Food & drink cans, Plastic bottles, Cardboard tubes and boxes, cartons, Plastic pots, tubs and trays, Glass bottles and jars and foil trays. These set of wrappings can be recycled at home or taken to recycling centers. By recycling at home, it means you can use these set of products again either to serve new purposes or they can still serve their old purposes.

• Plastic films and carrier bags. These set of wrappings are not collected under the recycling service for households but they can be taken to bigger retail outlets like Tesco at their carrier bag collection. 

• Types of plastic accepted at retail outlets: Plastic carrier bags, Plastic bread bags, Plastic bags from breakfast cereals, Plastic wrappers from multi packs of cans and plastic bottles, Plastic wrappers from toilet roll and kitchen towel, Plastic freezer bags, Plastic magazine (home delivery) and newspaper wrap and Bubble wrap.

• Types of plastic not accepted: Any non-Polyethylene film (e.g. PP, PVC, others), Crisp packets, Food and drink pouches, Film lids from food trays and cling film.

The ones not accepted at the retail outlets are the ones that cannot be recycled anywhere. If you are considering recycling your food wrappings(since it is clear it is possible for some) you can always google to confirm which one you should recycle or better still, look out for the ‘facts labels’ on the food wrapping to be extra certain.