UK recycling: Veolia urges industry-wide improvements amid increased public concern

21 Sep 2018 --- UK plastics recycling company Veolia are calling for standardized packaging which makes products recyclable by design. The call comes as it was revealed that 93 percent of UK consumers think plastic bottles should contain recycled content and would be willing to pay an average of 2.5p more. Veolia is also recommending a simplification of recycling to “remove confusion” and an increase in the use of recycled content in the manufacturing of new products.

The leading UK resource management company published its survey in Plan for Plastics, a new report launched recently by Veolia and plastics experts RECOUP. It describes an indisputable gap between what recycled content the public expect to be in plastic products and the reality, specifically:

• 93 percent of consumers think plastic bottles should contain recycled content.
• 55 percent of people think the majority of a bottle should be recycled content.

Veolia spoke to over 2,000 consumers from a wide demographic on the subject of recycling. 51 percent said they were willing to pay, on average, an extra 2.5p for bottles containing recycled content. This would raise £325 million (US$430 million) annually at current rates of plastic bottles usage in the UK, according to Veolia.

Veolia also reports that plastic bottles generally contain less than 15 percent recycled content – a significant distance from consumer expectations.

What can be done?
In Plan For Plastics, Veolia outlines three ways the UK can turn plastic into an environmental success story:

• Simplify recycling to remove confusion.
• Standardize packaging so a product is recyclable by design.
• Increase the use of recycled content in the manufacturing of new products.

Meanwhile, 87 percent of participants believe that plastic bottles should be recycled in the UK. This is despite the quantity of plastic packaging exported for recycling being 6 percent for Quarters 1-3 in 2017, according to Veolia.

Veolia already recycles over 10,000 tons of plastic bottles in the UK every year and is calling on manufacturers and Government to remove the bottlenecks to greater recycling rates.

Richard Kirkman, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, Veolia UK & Ireland says: “Plastic packaging can be complex but increasing recycling rates can be simple. Veolia is in a unique position, holding a bird’s eye view over the end-to-end plastic recycling process, and in this report with industry experts RECOUP, we recommend three clear ways for the UK to become a champion of plastic recycling - both environmentally and economically - setting the standard for the next decade.”

“The British public have told us they expect plastic bottles to be made of recycled content. We see 50 percent recycled content for plastic bottles and 30 percent for plastic packaging as realistic ambitions for every manufacturer to aim for within the next 10 years. When more packaging is both recyclable and made from recycled material, it will be the shift needed for recycled plastic to become mainstream,” he says.

“Veolia is planning to invest £1 billion (US$1.32 billion) in recycling and recovery infrastructure in the UK over the next five years. It is up to designers, manufacturers and Government to ensure supply matches our stake; so more plastic is collected and sorted to a higher quality standard. We owe it to future generations to make circular and sustainable living this country’s priority,” Kirkman concludes.

Stuart Foster, CEO of RECOUP adds: “There is more focus on plastic and sustainability than ever before, and that needs to be matched with action and progress. With circular economy and extended producer responsibility currently under debate, this is the ideal time to acknowledge the key issues and challenge current thinking.”

How does UK recycling compare to other European nations?
Speaking to PackagingInsights at the Packaging Innovations 2018 show in London last week, Head of Sustainability at Carlsberg, Simon Boas Hoffmeyer, commented: “In general I believe that the UK has slightly lower recycling rates than many other European markets.”

“I think there is definitely work to do in the UK to improve it, both on consumer information side but also in terms of the infrastructure that is in place.”

“That’s why for us, the Snap Pack can really help both in terms of generated waste levels but also if people do not dispose of it correctly, which of course they shouldn’t, the litter they create it 76 percent less.”

Read more about the innovative Snap Pack here. Watch the interview with Simon Boas Hoffmeyer in full here.

Veolia’s research supports Hoffmeyer’s comments. Currently:

• Out of 594,000 tons of plastic bottles currently in the UK, 59 percent is collected for recycling.
• Out of 525,000 tons of pots, tubs and trays, 33 percent is currently recycled.
• Out of 414,000 tons of film, less than 5 percent is collected for recycling.

Meanwhile, Norwegian recycling program, Infinitum, has impressive recycling rates of 97 percent. It is based predominately on a well-facilitated deposit-return scheme.

Veolia invested £6.5 million (US$8.6 million) in a Plastic Recovery Facility in Rainham with a capacity to sort over 65,000 tons of plastic every year.

Veolia’s reprocessing facility in Dagenham can handle 14,000 tons of HDPE bottles, turning them into high food grade pellets for manufacturing.

By Joshua Poole