High PRN prices lead to plastic quality concerns

The high price of PRNs could drive the quality of waste plastics sent for recycling down, plastic reprocessors have warned.

Delegates at the British Plastics Federations Replast recycling seminar in London yesterday (October 11) heard that the high value of PRNs encourages the export of material to reprocessing facilities overseas containing a high level of contamination.

Theuneven playing field created by the packaging waste recovery note (PRN) system, which is seen to favour exporters of material,was also claimed to be impacting on material quality.

Packaging producers are obligated to pay for a certain amount of recycling each year, which is done through purchasing PRNs, or their export equivalent, PERNs.While the value of PRNs is the same as PERNs, UK reprocessors can only claim them against material which is actually recycled, as opposed to all the material exported in bales, which includes contamination.

Jessica Baker, managing director of plastics reprocessor Chase Plastics,told the eventthat the high value of PRNs, coupled with a PRN system that favours exporters, have lead to a dip in the quality of material that is being collected.

PRN prices currently stand at around 30 a tonne,up from just 5 in January 2012,and are expected to rise further next year when higher plastic packaging recycling targets are introduced.

She said: Last time we had a spike in PRN values was early 2005. Prior to that contamination was at around 1-2%, PRNs started to attract 70 a tonne, which meant it was not then as important to think about quality of material.

We then have to pay to get rid of that 20% contamination but the exporter doesnt have to pay and it is driving that contamination abroad. I think next year we will see further degradation of quality, and if you incentivise weight based collection targets it will encourage the wrong types of collection.

Ms Baker was speaking during a panel session that also included Shadow Defra Minister Mary Creagh, Defras head of waste strategy and regulation, Richard Pullen, and Paul Vanston of the Kent Waste Partnership.

Defra

On the issue of contamination, delegates quizzedMr Pullen from Defra as to whether the department was likely to make a ruling on the legal level of contamination in a tonne of exported waste. But, Mr Pullen explained that Defra was hesitant to do so, as it would amount to a target for exporters to aim for.

He said: It is a very difficult area; we have had discussions with the Environment Agency on the subject. I understand that incremental contamination is acceptable, but as soon as we set a level you are effectively setting a target, which makes it difficult to do so.

Chris Dow, chief executive of plastics recycler Closed Loop, also speaking at the seminar,said that levels of contamination in material sent to the companys Dagenham plant regularly exceed the contamination level of 2%, thought to be seen as the acceptable level as viewed by the Environment Agency.

Mr Dow claimed that structural changes, such as reform of the PRN systems to remove the advantage for exporters, would address this and would lead to thousands of jobs being created in the UK.

He said: I am very much pro free trade, but illegal trade or improper trade and an uneven playing field is damaging and it has stunted this industry. Reform in this area has the ability to set us on the path to create a green economy.

The BPF has long called for reforms of the PRN system which it claims is a cheaters charter weighted unfairly in favour of exporters of material. Last month, the chair of the Federations recycling group Roger Baynham wrote to Defra junior minister Richard Benyon to call for the PRN system to be re-evaluated (see letsrecycle.com story).