The video, titled ‘Contamination – The Enemy of Recycling’, was launched yesterday (November 27) and is available to view via the video hosting website YouTube. The reprocessing sector trade body hopes that it will promote high quality collections of recyclable material.
Its comes as part of the Association’s ReQIP (Recycling Quality Information Point) project, which aims to provide a reference point for collectors of waste to understand the quality requirements of the reprocessing sector (see letsrecycle.com story).
ReQIP also provides information about the impact specific contaminants have on the quality of recyclate, and how each contaminant affects its market value.
Featured in the video are Jonathan Short, chief executive of plastic bottle reprocessor ECO Plastics, Andy Doran, senior development manager of sustainability & recycling development at aluminium can recycler Novelis and Gemma Stapeley, head of recycling at Aylesford Newsprint. Each of the reprocessors offers insight into how contamination affects their operations.
Cost
Ray Georgeson, chief executive of the Resource Association, said: “Contamination of recyclate remains a major issue for the British reprocessing industries. As I mentioned in the film, it costs UK industry at least £50 million a year to clean up poor quality material that arrives at our factory gates. The video illustrates in some detail the issues the UK manufacturing industry faces from the material that comes from many British households.
“Major contributors to the recycling supply chain are losing out – local authorities are missing out on value, the recycling industry bears a cost of clean-up and this slows the investment and job creation potential of our industry at a time when we need it more than ever. We want to assist councils in understanding better the impact of contamination and importantly, what we can do together to improve this.”
The video, produced by Rejuvenate Productions, a Leeds based digital agency specialising in video production, has already been shown at several WRAP workshops held for local authorities to improve the quality of dry recyclables.
John Shannon, strategic waste manager for Durham county council has been among the local authority delegates to view the video.
He said: “I like to think I have a fair grasp of issues surrounding recyclate contamination however the video highlighted the minute levels of contamination needed to adversely affect, through to causing catastrophic failure of, resultant recycled products.
“I was not aware of such dramatic effect from so minimal levels of contaminant being present and by highlighting this it puts in perspective why it is essential to accurately communicate what can and cannot be collected and how residents can positively contribute to the whole process.”
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