Plastic Packaging Recycling On Increase

More organisations are recycling plastic packaging according to a new report.

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) report, Plastics Market Situation 2010, shows that 590,000 tonnes of plastic packaging was recycled in 2009 - a 14 per cent rise on the previous year and over a quarter more than in 2007. The rate of plastic bottle recycling has increased to over 40 per cent following investment over the previous two years in increasing bottle processing capacity.

However, the report said that "this equates to a recycling rate of under 25 per cent" of plastic packaging, noting that "the true level of recycling could be understated because the NPWD data include only plastics reprocessed or exported by businesses accredited with the Environment Agency".

Recycled Plastic Packaging

The WRAP report also said that demand for recycled packaging is still outstripping supply. WRAP said there is a "great opportunity" for manufacturers to increase their investment in packaging recycling. The report indicated that demand is particularly strong in mixed non-bottle plastic films and trays, non-bottle household packaging (mixed plastics) and what it claims is "strong and increasing demand" for food-grade recovered plastics.

Noting that much of the plastics recycling export market is concentrated on a few markets such as China, the WRAP report said there should be efforts by industry "to develop a portfolio of end markets for UK material". With this and the overall recycling rate still under 25 per cent, WRAP's director of market development Marcus Gover said companies still had more work to do.

"There has been extensive investment in UK plastics reprocessing capacity however the UK still exports a large proportion of the plastics it collects for recycling. Given the strong UK demand for high quality recycled plastics, this represents a great opportunity for UK manufacturers to exploit this green niche," Gover said.