Tesco no longer recycling plastic food bags

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We have had a weekly Tesco delivery for the last few years and have always given them our plastic bags to take away - not just the carrier bags (we have a no-bags delivery, but some things still seem to be put in bags), but also bags that the food is wrapped in - everything from apples to bread to pasta - so long as it is clean and recyclable.

All of a sudden our delivery driver has told us there has been a policy change and they can no longer take anything other than carrier bags. He said there was a concern about rats. But surely that shouldn't be an issue if a) the bags are clean and b) they are recycling them efficiently!

Given the messages coming out of Government in recent weeks, it seems an odd time for a retrograde step on plastic bag recycling.

Is it to do with the food packaging not all being the same types of plastic, different types are recycled differently, some can't be recycled at all. Sorting them all out and sending them to various recycling plants could be quite a big job, whereas their own carrier bags will all be made of the same plastic, can be easily sorted and sent in bulk to one plant.

I didn't even realise Tesco did this. Ocado will recycle their's and other carrier bags but have never done general plastic bag recycling. I put all my other plastic in the recycle bin the council take away.

I suspect it is to do with China no longer accepting our plastic waste. AFAIA there are no places that can change the plastic that bags are made from into something reusable. Supposedly this was done in China but with great environmental cost. Never confuse the word “ recycle” as defined by the govt and local authority with actually being capable to be changed into something else. For the majority of plastics it was simply an accounting ploy. Personally I believe incineration with heat transfer is the most sustainable to deal with plastic, that and using a lot less of it.