The £3 million FlexCollect project was launched in May 2022 and is co-managed by a consortium comprising Ecosurety, Recoup, Suez recycling and recovery UK and WRAP.
As part of the project, councils who sign up for the scheme are given financial support to pilot soft plastic collections. These findings will then help develop best practise ahead of the government’s planned rollout of film collections from households in 2027.
The scheme launched in Newcastle on 5 June and for Somerset on 22 May and both councils join South Gloucestershire, Cheltenham and Maldon councils in piloting soft plastic collections.
Councillor Sarah Dyke, lead member for environment and climate change at Somerset council, said: “We’ve expanded kerbside collections and our recycling rate has never been higher – we’ve a lot to be proud of in Somerset and joining this trial was the natural next step. We’re committed to making our county more sustainable and excited to be playing our part in shaping the future of recycling across the UK.”
Homes
As part of the pilot scheme over 3,000 homes in Somerset and over 5,000 homes in Newcastle will be able to recycle “flexible” plastics such as plastic bags, wrappers, packets and films as part of their normal recycling collections. The hope is to expand access to this scheme to all residents of Somerset and Newcastle over the next two years.
Cllr Jane Byrne, Newcastle city council cabinet member for a connected, clean city, added: “Improving the quality of recycling and reducing waste are among our key priorities so I am delighted more than 5,000 homes in Newcastle will be taking part in this exciting trial. The pilot supports the fantastic work we are doing to improve recycling rates in the city, from engaging with communities to highlight the importance of recycling to reducing contamination through the use of indoor recycling smart bags.”
Residents in both areas will receive blue bags in which they should put their flexible plastic waste and then the bags will be collected alongside the normal recycling.
We are pleased to see the FPF FlexCollect project building steadily
- Gareth Morton, Ecosurety
Recycling
With just 8% of flexible plastic currently being collected from home, it is hoped that this new pilot scheme will be able to tackle the issue.
Gareth Morton, spokesperson for FPF FlexCollect and discovery manager at Ecosurety said: “We are pleased to see the FPF FlexCollect project building steadily, with now five local authorities on board to help us gain valuable insights into how to successfully collect and recycle post-consumer flexible plastics from households. We are looking forward to share openly our initial learnings at the end of this year so the UK can prepare for widespread collections by 2027.”
The FPF fund was set up in 2021 to tackle the issue of flexible plastics and is funded by the following UK organisations: Abel & Cole, Ella’s Kitchen, Kiddylicious, Koninklijke Douwe Egberts, KP Snacks, Lotus Bakeries, Mars UK, McCain Foods, Mondelēz International, Natural Balance Foods, Nestlé, Ocado Retail, PepsiCo, The Collective, Unilever, United Biscuits and Vitaflo.
Facilities
The recycling of soft plastics is difficult, with only a few facilities able to do so.
In September 2022, Aldi explained to letsrecycle.com that it is working with Jayplas to recycle soft plastics collected from its store. Jayplas is currently commissioning a washing and pelletising plant for used film in Loughborough and has plans for a plant near Cardiff which would process film from materials recycling facilities (see letsrecycle.com story).
Other companies involved in soft plastic recycling include Berry UK and Terracycle.
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