Remembrance Day poppies to see major change to way they are made
REMEMBRANCE Day poppies are to go green — with plans to ditch plastic.
The material has formed the paper flowers’ stem and centre for 54 years.
The Royal British Legion produces more than 30 million a year at its factory in Aylesford, Kent, to help raise millions of pounds for military veterans.
Now RBL bosses are in discussions about producing a new material to replace the plastic.
In future, the stem and the centre will be easier to recycle or even biodegradable.
The planned change will not affect the poppies sold in this year’s appeal.
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But plastic-coated message cards on 130,000 poppy wreaths laid at war memorials have been replaced by fibreboard.
A Legion spokesman said: “We have been working with suppliers and the relevant experts to produce a new poppy that has minimal impact on the environment.
"The RBL is committed to reducing the amount of single-use plastic.”
It currently sells virtual poppies to avoid having plastic to dispose of.
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After Remembrance Sunday on November 13, poppies can be deposited at Sainsbury’s to be reused next year.
DONATE to the Poppy Appeal through the RBL’s 40,000 sellers or online at .
