Royal Mail ask people to stop posting crisp packets without envelopes

Campaigners have been posting Walkers crisp packets back to the manufacturer in protest against the use of plastic, but Royal Mail are saying that they are causing delays.

The war on waste and non-recyclables continues - with the latest campaign focusing on crisp packets.

Campaign group 38 Degrees are appealing to crisp manufacturers to find an alternative to using single-use plastic bags to package their products.

In protest, they have been posting their finished crisp packets back to Walkers, who are the biggest crisp manufacturer in the country, using their freepost address.

Royal Mail are required to return these packets to Walkers, but say that the bags are causing problems for their deliveries.

Campaigners are returning packets of Walkers crisps to the manufacturer but the Royal Mail's machines are struggling to process them

38 Degrees is a group that brings together campaigns from around the UK.

In their petition, they say they are calling upon "Walkers and other manufacturers to change the materials for their packets to one which is recyclable or even more preferably a non-plastic environmentally friendly material".

However, Royal Mail have asked campaigners to send their crisp packets in envelopes or protective packaging as they are unable to process the packets through machines.

A spokesperson from Royal Mail told BBC News, "Crisp packets can't go through the machines, they are not normal mail items therefore my hardworking colleagues need to manually sort them, which adds to time."

Walkers said its packaging had been designed to keep its snacks fresh and prevent food waste.

The crisp manufacturer confirmed it had started receiving crisp packets and claimed it would use them "for research".