Infrastructure needed to hit plastic packaging target

And, the organisation has called for labels on plastic packaging which advise on whether it is widely recyclable to be made clearer, in order to stop confusion.

The comments were made at Recoups event Understanding the plastics packaging journey in Peterborough yesterday (May 3) which also saw recycling minister Lord Taylor outline plans for a new drive to increase plastic bottle recycling in the UK (see letsrecycle.com story).

In December the government confirmed that plastics packaging recycling targets would be set to rise from 24% at present to 42% in 2017 (see letsrecycle.com story) .

At the event Stuart Foster, chief executive at Recoup, said that while local authorities should be encouraged to collect mixed plastics, infrastructure needs to be developed in order to handle the additional capacity needed to meet the targets.

He said: If we can get all local authorities to add pots, tubs and trays than we will hit it but I dont think thats sustainable when quality is such a big issue. We need time for infrastructure to be installed before we can ramp up the collections. That is why I am calling for a little less conversation and a little more action, please. We are now aiming for 42% and that gives us a huge gap. Household collections will fill part of that gap. The film increase needs to be similar and the demand is there for the bottles.

I think more needs to be done within processing. More is being collected but the infrastructure isnt always there. More also needs to be done when tackling films. With plastic bottles its now or never. The infrastructure and the capacity is there we just need to be more proactive.

Film

Also speaking at the event, Claire Shrewsbury, programme area manager for recycling at WRAP the Waste and Resources Action Programme – said that film recycling needs to be tackled.

To be able to deliver the targets I think its fair to say that nobody believes we can do it without tackling film recycling. At the moment we are saying keep film out of kerbside collections because of the issues at the MRFs or the collection systems. We have been working with a few organisations to look into this.

Communication

The importance of communication with consumers was also highlighted as Mr Foster said that clearer labelling on plastic packaging was needed. He said: We need clearer packaging labels. The triangle system for plastic recycling can be confusing as consumers think it means it can be recycled. We also need to consider how recyclable where facilities exist actually help the consumers.

Nick Brown, associate director for recycling at Coca Cola, said that a friendly approach was needed if participation rates are to rise. He cited a campaign by one council which stated recycling its a duty not a chore as an example of an unfriendly approach and said that rewarding consumers for good behaviour could offer better results.

Commenting on Coca Colas role in encouraging good consumer behaviour, Mr Brown said: We can encourage and inspire consumers to recycle more and more often. The second area we can help in is championing and influencing existing collections. We are also active in the Metal Matters scheme to encourage better and more concise communication to householders about recycling. We are committed to working in partnership with our suppliers to recycle more material.

The event also saw presentations from council members and the NHS about their recycling schemes as well as a global packaging provider, Reckitt Benckiser Group, which discussed the importance of packaging design.