“We face a storm on the horizon and we have to adapt, fast”: UK Recycling Association CEO
12 Sep 2018 --- The state of recycling in the UK has been shaken by a string of Asian countries banning or restricting the import of post-consumer plastic and mixed paper grade. “Millions of tons of recovered materials collected globally, and of varying quality, was displaced,” Simon Ellin, CEO of The Recycling Association, tells PackagingInsights. He further warns that “we face a storm on the horizon as China looks set to ban imports of all solid waste in the next couple of years.” How can the industry prepare? Adapt – and fast.
A large amount of processing that would have previously been done once the material had been exported outside of the UK will now need to be done locally – which will require additional infrastructure. “But to make it work and become financially viable, we need to streamline the materials being delivered to those new facilities so that the product produced is high value and high demand,” Ellin explains.
This will require multi-stakeholder engagement, including from the packaging industry.
Which materials and why?
“It is essential that the packaging industry works closely with the recycling sector to understand what materials are easy to collect, sort and recycle. It is also essential that they understand that processing materials that are mixed or bonded together can be difficult.”
“We know that these packaging solutions have evolved for other sustainable reasons. It is now our collective responsibility to take the next step and find solutions that protect and prolong the life of the product while also making it recyclable.”
Huge R&D strides have made biodegradable and compostable materials a reality that has flooded the market, often delighting consumers in their apparent sustainability.
However, Ellin has reservations: “We need further debate on biodegradable materials. Oxo-Degradable/Oxo-Biodegradeable packaging materials simply incorporate an additive designed to make it break down more quickly. If there are any type of plastics involved, this will simply result in microplastics causing environmental problems.”
“It also adds yet another type of material into the system, which causes collection and sorting problems. If biodegradable material is mistakenly mixed with recyclable material, the result will be more contamination and more material wasted, ending up in landfill or being used to generate energy.”
“Starch-based biodegradable products are also concerning. If they are mistakenly mixed with standard recyclable polymers they will cause contamination. The result will be more material that cannot be reused.”
Recyclable materials should always be selected above those that decompose. Ellin advocates for a hierarchy that makes this clear: Paper, PET and HDPE are all recyclable and should be chosen over other materials for this reason. For example, a HDPE milk bottle is single use for the consumer, but it can be recycled so the HDPE is very much multi-use.
Consumers are far too often confused by labels and recycling. In this way, labeling packaging as biodegradable or compostable is not clear enough: “compostable could mean it’s possible in an industrial composting process, but not home composting. Clear on-pack instructions are essential.”
What are his crucial tips to the packaging industry? Work with recycling associations to develop a list of materials everyone is comfortable with, do not combine materials and make labeling clear.
By Laxmi Haigh
