New technology enables black plastic recycling in industry first

25 Sep 2018 --- With black plastic being one of the most contentious issues and barriers in the world of recycling, The Collective – gourmet yogurt brand based in Somerset, UK – has revealed that its black lids will be 100 percent recyclable from October 2018 – a UK first in the food and drink industry. The technological advancement uses green pigment so that the black lids will be picked up on conveyor belts: meaning they will not be classed as waste and incinerated – as is the typical destiny for black plastics.

The Collective worked with WRAP, circular economy and resource efficiency experts: “WRAP is delighted to have worked with The Collective helping them to implement their first-to-market black pigment technology, leading the way in the grocery sector. To help meet the challenging targets set down in the UK Plastics Pact, WRAP hopes that other businesses in the sector may soon follow the lead set by The Collective in adopting this forward-thinking technology,” says Bernard Chase, WRAP’s Plastic Specialist.

With many brands and supermarkets ditching black plastic and looking for other sustainable ways to contain their food and drink products, The Collective has turned the issue on its head by working with its suppliers Nextek and Innavisions to develop a unique new special pigment that makes them detectable across UK recycling plants. 

This now means over 2,700 tonnes of the black plastic lids can be recycled within the next year alone, as part of UK household plastic recycling. 

“Infrared sensors in recycling plants don’t normally pick up black plastic on conveyor belts. This means our lids are not usually detected, classed as residual waste and incinerated. Now the lids are being made with a new green pigment that can be picked up by plant sensors and will be recycled alongside The Collective’s polypropylene pots,” says Amelia Harvey, Co-founder at The Collective.

The Collective brand has also undergone a significant sustainability overhaul of its lines with its gourmet (450g & 900g pots) and 150g yogurt pots seeing the most positive changes. The brands 150g pots have lost their black lid and spoon, which is estimated to save 35 tonnes of plastic a year. 

“These will be rolled out across the UK from October 2018, The Collective are currently in the process of expanding the reach with the new lids,” a spokesperson from The Collective tells PackagingInsights. 

“By implementing this technology, the brand has taken on a considerable cost, but intend to become more sustainable without passing this cost onto the consumer,” they add.

In recent black plastic news, Lidl has announced that it will remove black plastic from its entire fruit and vegetable range by the end of September and as part of its sustainability blueprint, the co-op aims to reduce its overall use of plastic packaging within five years and stop using hard to recycle materials, such as black plastic. However, partnerships with waste management organizations such as WRAP and innovative technologies that have a broad reach could lead to stores adopting recycled black plastic options instead of phasing it out.