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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Neil Shaw & Chiara Pollock

River Clyde litter picker finds 'oldest plastic' Golden Wonder crisp packet from 1960s

A litter picker has found a Golden Wonder crisp packet in the River Clyde, dating back to the 1960s.

The crisps were from pre-decimal currency and the weight was marked in 'drams' - with the packet labelling an offer expiration date on April 30 1969, two years before decimalisation was introduced in the UK.

Zoe Weir, who goes litter picking with her dog, Mackie, made the unique discovery and said it was the oldest plastic she had ever found.

READ MORE: 70 photos that capture life for Glasgow residents in the 1970s

It boasts a "new speedsealed stay-fresh pack", as pre-1960s crisps were packaged in wax paper. Zoe found it in the River Clyde in Dumbarton, on Monday (June 5) while litter picking with Friends of Dumbarton Foreshore, reports Nottinghamshire Live.

Zoe said: "I could see it was old as soon as I bent down to pick it up, because of the price, which was 4D - pre-decimal money. On closer examination, the packet has a cutlery offer which expired on April 30th, 1969 - it's the oldest I've found.

The crisp packet was found in the River Clyde on Monday (June 5) (Zoe Weir)

"I knew I'd made a special find. Old plastics wash up onshore worryingly often, but this was the oldest crisp packet so far by about nine years.

"Tayto, who own Golden Wonder, explain on their website that prior to the 1960s, crisps came in tins or waxed packets. I would be happier if we went back to that, and had clean rivers and happy wildlife.

"The company says it's moving to recyclable packets, but it's greenwash - most of them will never be recycled and will just keep adding to the pollution of our beautiful wild places. Now that we know how much damage plastic causes to wildlife and humans, it really is time to go back to old ways of packaging, without oil-based products."

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