Packet of Walkers crisps from nearly 30 years ago found intact

Cheese and Onion crisps from 1997, anyone?

Litter pickers were in for a shock when they spotted a food packet — dating back almost thirty years.

The cheese and onion packet of Walker’s crisps was discovered in Peterborough, Cambridge, by The Recoup Litter Composition and Pathways Project.

The packet, which has an expiry date of 1997, had little degradation to the blue and red packet or ink.

The group, who are undergoing a project on how long litter can really last, said it highlighted how long garbage can stay in the environment if left uncollected.

They have carried out five litter picks in the area so far. And the volunteers may have a point.

Surprisingly, this is not the oldest crisp packet that has turned up recently.

In May, a packet of Quavers from 1975 were found in a man’s garden.

Cenk Albayrak-Touye said the packet, which had an expiry date of October 31, 1975, was like a ‘little time capsule’.

‘As cool as it is to find these things it is also pretty scary that it’s been under the ground for nearly double my lifetime and it’s just sitting there completely intact.’

Back in June 2023, a Golden Wonder crisp packet from 1969 was found in a river by litter pickers.

Zoe Weir was walking along the River Clyde in Dumbarton when she found the surprisingly intact crisp packet, which features an offer that expired on April 30, 1969, and boasts about being a ‘new speedsealed stay-fresh pack’. 

Recoup were walking alongside the Peterborough Little Wombles Association, a group of community volunteers who collected more than 2,000 bags of litter in 2023.

Laura Hutchings, Projects & Data Manager at RECOUP, said: ‘There is an obvious need for highly thought-out, targeted interventions for the prevention of litter, and this project will provide key data and insights to help achieve this.’

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