52% of local authorities have reported experiencing issues with plastic markets, with nearly half of these stating market values were being affected, according to a new report by RECOUP.
Plastics packaging collected for recycling provides income generation, employment and business opportunities for councils, waste management providers and recyclers.
As with all material commodities, the value of plastic collected for recycling changes due to market conditions. Regardless of values of collected plastics, with landfill and energy from waste costs, the business case to recycle is proven if an end market is commercially viable.
Since the Chinese Government announced that it would ban the import of post-consumer plastics, the market for plastic packaging has shifted substantially. Other destinations were sought, and countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Poland saw a rush of material being exported there, with the UK a prime exporter.
These countries couldn’t cope with the additional material, and with tougher import restrictions and import bans in place, end markets availability has been transformed in a relatively short time.
RECOUP asked local authorities across the UK how the changing position of end markets for plastics collected for recycling is affecting them.
52% of local authorities reported experiencing issues with plastic markets, with nearly half of these stating market values were being affected.
There are stable markets for good quality material, however, it says This is largely clear and light blue PET bottles and natural HDPE milk bottles.
Local authorities only collecting plastic bottles stated they would like to continue with a bottle only collection scheme as values for this material have remained stable.
New funding and infrastructure systems should increase and focus investment to transform consumer collections, material sorting and recycling of post-consumer packaging, and development of UK based end markets should be a central component of this, RECOUP says.
The only fraction of plastic pot, tubs and trays with end markets is polypropylene pot and tubs.
Quality is the primary market factor and increasingly end markets are becoming more limited, RECOUP found – low grade material or ‘mixed plastics’ are being diverted to energy recovery, Refuse Derived Fuel and Solid Recovered Fuel.
Plastic film is generally reported to be going to energy recovery, RECOUP reports.
The survey finds although there is an increased interest from consumers in recycling, they are increasingly recycling plastics that are not target material or not presenting them in an optimal way, eg, removing excess food, and the current systems are not able to handle the diverse and complex nature of the material.
The UK Government has just closed four consultations that aim to meet commitments set out in the Resources and Waste Strategy and the 25 Year Environment Plan to accelerate change to how the UK funds, structures and manages its waste materials.
New funding and infrastructure systems should increase and focus investment to transform consumer collections, material sorting and recycling of post-consumer packaging, and development of UK based end markets should be a central component of this, RECOUP says.
It says, “This does not change the position in the short or medium term, and a careful balance is needed between delivering any interventions quickly to meet immediate needs and optimising any changes to meet the UKs long term aims.”
For the full report, click here
