There are significant opportunities to increase plastics recycling rates in Scotland and develop the countrys limited infrastructure for handling the waste stream, according to a new report.
The Developing the Evidence Base for Plastic Recycling in Scotland was published last week (April 12) by Zero Waste Scotland and gives a detailed picture of plastics processing capacity in the country, and how the material is managed and recycled.
The report looks at waste plastic collected by all 32 local authorities in Scotland alongside material from businesses, agriculture, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and construction, for which the data is more limited. It was carried out to provide evidence to guide investment in plastics recycling infrastructure in Scotland.
According to data included in the report, 251,831 tonnes of plastic waste were collected from households during 2009/10, of which 21,358 tonnes (8%) were recycled. The remaining 92% was either landfilled or incinerated.
Reprocessing
Zero Waste Scotland claims the amount of plastic waste recycled needs to increase dramatically to 90,981tonnes (36%) by 2025, an increase of around 28 percentage points.
Crucially, reprocessing capacity in Scotland is noted as limited, with only three companies in the country – British Polythene Industries, PET Processors and Polymer Technology Services, all based in Dumfries – having facilities with the capability to manufacture secondary raw materials from waste plastics.
The companies have a combined capacity to reprocess in excess of 50,000 tonnes of waste plastics per year, however according to Zero Waste Scotland a large amount of this capacity is filled by waste from the elsewhere in the UK and Ireland.
Opportunities
Based on its analysis, Zero Waste Scotland concludes that there are opportunities for boosting plastics recycling in Scotland and argues that in order to increase plastic recycling rates, collection, management and reprocessing infrastructure must be developed to maximise the quality and quantity of the materials that are available for reprocessing.
Under the next stage of the study, Zero Waste Scotland will identify opportunities for the development of recycling capacity and infrastructure in Scotland, and produce a produce a report outlining the opportunities for increasing the amount of waste plastics that are recycled in Scotland.
Last month, the Scottish Government laid out its ambitious Zero Waste Plan (see letsrecycle.com story), which aims to see the country hit a 70% recycling rate by 2025 and waste plastics is a key area of focus.
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