Yesterday (March 19) letsrecycle.com revealed that Defra minister Dan Rogerson had called an emergency involving retailers, the recycling sector and the plastics industry amid concerns over increased pressure on plastics recyclers over falling oil prices.
At the meeting on Tuesday (March 17) the minister heard concerns that the falling oil price could be leading some users of recycled plastic to switch back to virgin polymers as the value of the material falls alongside the cost of oil.
In particular, Mr Rogerson was told of concerns that in milk bottle production, some bottlers are switching from the use of rHDPE to virgin material, which has fallen in price.
The minister has today expressed his confidence that existing voluntary commitments, such as the Dairy Roadmap and the Courtauld Commitment, will be adequate to ensure retailers do not turn their back on the UK’s plastics recycling sector.
He said: “The plastic packaging supply chain has worked very hard to increase the amount of packaging being recycled, with the full support of government. I welcome commitment from across the supply chain to deliver on the existing agreement. This week’s meeting makes clear our commitment to go even further, continuing to embrace new technology to make sure more recycled plastic is used throughout the supply chain.
“This industry-wide commitment to recycling is delivering real environmental benefits and also creating jobs, helping to build a stronger UK economy.”
‘Warm words’
Now, the Resource Association which represents the UK’s reprocessing sector has issued a strong statement in the wake of the meeting, warning that ‘warm words are not enough’ to safeguard the future of the plastics recycling industry.
The Association’s chief executive, Ray Georgeson, welcomed Mr Rogerson’s intervention in the market this week, but called for firm commitments to use rHDPE in bottle production.
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He said: “The meeting heard many general messages of support for the continued use of recycled content in line with the commitments made under the Dairy Roadmap and Courtauld Commitment, facilitated by WRAP. However, these were not backed by specifics in the meeting and frankly, warm words are not enough.
“We call on all the signatories of the Dairy Roadmap and Courtauld Commitment to honour their commitments to recycled content, but this now means more is needed than merely a general statement of intent – it needs an urgent switch back to specifying rHDPE with immediate effect.”
Mr Georgeson acknowledged that while there are cost pressures across the supply chain, reprocessors are currently bearing the brunt of the burden, and the support of retailers will be vital to protect UK recycling infrastructure.
He added: “If we lose it for the sake of 0.1p on the cost of a standard plastic milk bottle, not only will it be a hole under the waterline for the voluntary approach taken by WRAP, Government and the industry, it will make all the warm words about sustainability and the circular economy sound very hollow.
“Given that the supply chain has already had the windfall and benefit of huge cost savings from the reduced cost of virgin polymer for the 70% of product that is virgin content, surely 0.1p on the cost of a milk bottle is not a high price to pay for the sustainability of the UK rHDPE recycling infrastructure?”
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