Half of plastic supermarket packaging cannot be recycled, a study by Which? has found.Researchers analysed the packaging of 46 of the most popular own-brand items from leading supermarkets including Asda, M&S, Morrisons, and Waitrose.They found that only 52 per cent of the packaging - including cardboard, glass and plastics - could be easily put in household recycling bins.Morrisons was the worst offender, as 61 per cent of its packaging that Which? examined was not easily recyclable.The best supermarkets were Tesco and Waitrose - as only 40 per cent of their packaging could not be easily recycled.The study also found that 42 per cent of the total supermarket packaging was labelled either incorrectly or not at all, making it difficult for well-intentioned consumers and increasing the chances of it ending up in landfill.

Which? is calling on the government to make recycling labelling simple, clear and mandatory and ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place to make it easy for everyone to recycle.The consumer champion urged all the supermarkets to commit to ensuring a much greater proportion of their packaging is recyclable, rather than continuing to use environmentally unfriendly single-use, throwaway materials.

The study also examined the quality of recycling labelling.Iceland had the worst record for labelling, with only 38 per cent of packaging examined by Which? was correctly labelled.The supermarket’s easy peeler oranges which use type of plastic netting that cannot be recycled were not labelled at all, investigators found.Of the other supermarkets, M&S had 43 per cent of their products labelled correctly, whilst Ocado had 44 per cent and Waitrose 47 per cent.Asda led the way, demonstrating that recycling labelling can be done well, with eight in 10 items of packaging that Which? experts looked at correctly labelled.Natalie Hitchins, head of home products and services at Which?, said: “Our research shows there is a lot more supermarkets and manufacturers can do to banish single-use plastics and make sure any packaging they use is minimal, recyclable and correctly labelled, so that shoppers know exactly how they can recycle it.

“To reduce the waste that goes to landfill, the government must make labelling mandatory, simple and clear as well as invest in better infrastructure to ensure that recycling is easy for everyone, regardless of where they live.”According to many leading supermarkets and food retailers, organic waste - including leftover food - has a bigger carbon footprint than plastic and plastic plays an important role in preventing food waste.But Which? investigators said they were surprised at how little consistency there was across the sector in terms of the materials used in packaging, with some products being packaged very differently depending on which supermarket they had been purchased from.

M&S British Wiltshire Unsmoked Back Bacon rashers used two pieces of packaging including a tray and plastic film which was correctly labelled to advise that only the tray was recyclable. Whereas Lidl unsmoked back bacon, although correctly labelled, used non-recyclable plastic.The research comes after the Daily Telegraph revealed that some UK supermarkets are charging shoppers more the purchase loose fruit and vegetables compared to those wrapped in plastic packaging.Sainsbury's was found to be charging 17p for Braeburn apples in plastic packs of six, while lose apples were 28p.Environmental campaigners accused supermarkets of discouraging shoppers from saving the planet by making it more expensive to avoid products wrapped in plastic.