The Plastics Challenge

Plastic is a climate change issue. Much of it is still made from fossil fuels, and recycling it can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions - diverting one tonne of plastic from landfill makes carbon savings of one tonne.

While best practice is to avoid plastic waste in the first place, through better designed packaging and re-using materials where possible, recycling is the next best thing and is becoming increasingly available for both consumers and businesses.

Growing awareness of the benefits of recycling, and the ever improving recycling infrastructure, means more plastic is being recycled than ever before. In 2007, 25 per cent of plastic bottles consumed in the UK were recycled - over 130,000 tonnes of plastic.

Plastics recycling is also becoming more convenient . Over 90 per cent of the UK’s local authorities now offer some kind of plastics recycling service, and over half of all households can take advantage of kerbside plastic recycling. Changes in the design of drinks and detergent bottles, meanwhile, are making them lighter and easier to recycle.

DEFRA also reports a growing demand for recycled plastic material, both from UK manufacturers and overseas markets, as businesses explore how they can use recycled materials in their plastic products.

New research from WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) also shows that recycling mixed plastic packaging can be cost-effective as well as environmentally friendly - reducing the need for us to use large amounts of energy producing new plastics.

Despite this progress, three out of four plastic bottles are still being sent to landfill, and two million tonnes of non-bottle packaging still aren’t being recycled. The Government has set targets which require 26 per cent of plastic packaging waste to be recycled at the packaging producer’s costs in 2008, rising to 27 per cent in 2009 and 29 per cent in 2010. This applies to all businesses handling more than 50 tonnes of packaging a year and with a turnover of over £2 million.

So what still needs to be done to maximise plastics recycling and meet these targets?

Firstly, consumers need to be able to easily identify whether or not plastics are recyclable. For example, although it’s common knowledge that drinks bottles can be recycled, shampoo and cleaning products bottles are also recyclable. It’s vital that manufacturers ensure that plastic packaging is clearly identified as being recyclable so consumers can make informed choices.

It’s in the best interest of local councils to look at the best way to collect plastic waste in their area - whether it’s through kerbside recycling, or recycling banks. It is encouraging that representatives from local government, the packaging supply chain, and retailers are already working closely together to develop practical proposals to increase collection rates for recycling.

We als need to work on how we recycle. Last year, WRAP and the London Development Agency helped fund the first plant in the UK to recycle plastics into material for food packaging, to ensure that 35,000 tonnes of packaging, which might otherwise be exported for recycling or sent to landfill, will be converted into packaging material. And a UK trial has found that it is possible to make milk bottles with 30 per cent recycled content.

This work is encouraging progress. However, with plastics consumption continuing to rise, it’s important that this momentum continues.