The Econaut

Pret a Manger, the sandwich shop with a conscience, has a plan. Its co-mingled recycling campaign is in the early stages – with trials in 3 shops underway right now – but already sounds promising, providing special bins in-store to collect every bit of rubbish then sort it out for recycling later. I’ve been told that Pret is aiming to get the scheme into 90% of its stores by the summer.

But just how effective can the scheme be? Well, according to commercial director Simon Hargraves, 96% of all of Pret’s packaging can be recycled, hinting that the instore plan ought to be hugely successful. I phoned up Simon and quizzed him on other elements of Pret’s sustainable outlook.

When do you expect the co-mingled scheme will reach Pret stores?
Simon Hargraves: “We’ve carried out several trials over 2 years. While it seems relatively straightforward, customer recycling is actually ground breaking stuff and fraught with challenges. We’re not happy with the design of the bins at present. We’re on our third version so far. Our fourth, and very likely our last, arrives for trial at the end of this month. We expect to roll out to 90% of our shops across the country by end of Summer 2008.”

Does Pret have any predictions for the success of the scheme?
SH: “96% of our packaging can be recycled, and we’ve made the scheme as easy as possible. All packaging goes into one side of the bin and all left over food in the other. There is also a hole for leftover liquids (coffee dregs, emptying cans etc). The trials have shown that customers aren’t all adhering to the simple rules (understandable) and this leads to contamination, which ultimately reduce the amount of waste that will be accepted at the recycling plants.

“We are, in effect, forcing all customers to recycle. Despite all the media attention, many are still reasonably new to recycling and not all are quite so excited about it as we might be. Our biggest challenge is compliance and acceptance. No other retailer has dared try it. We know it will take at least a year once it has rolled out to get to recycling levels that are acceptable. Customer education will be key.”

Will the scheme affect Pret’s future packaging plans?
SH: “We have a full sustainability policy. All our packaging is now designed to be recyclable, where possible, made from recycled materials and, where possible again, biodegradable too. We have worked on much material reductions over the last two years.

“The elements of our packaging that remain non-recyclable or at least non recyclable in the UK are very small. Cutlery, for instance, remains non recyclable but is small enough to be separated in the process and does not contaminate the rest. The cornstarch windows on boxes are also of small enough amount not to contaminate the process – some bio degradable items can mess up the recycling process.

“The UK is reasonably underdeveloped in this whole area. There are few industrial compost sites which means bio-plastics are an issue and usually end up in landfill. Recycling is also underdeveloped. We’ve been working with Closed Loop Recycling and Forum for the Future, as well as Envirowise to ensure that we make the right choices.”

Finally, with Pret’s link to MacDonalds, could the scheme be extended to fast-food?
SH: “Pret has no day to day link with McDonalds. They are a silent shareholder. I do know however, that only Subway in the US has tried to test customer recycling in its stores. All others believe it to be too hard and likely to fail. Fingers crossed, Pret will do better!”

Simon hits on a pearler of a point here – education will be key. My fingers are certainly crossed in the hope that Pret’s customers will be willing to learn.