UK compliance scheme Ecosurety has announced a new deal with plastic waste chemical recycling specialists Recycling Technologies, accelerating the commercial roll out of an innovative technology to improve the scope and capacity of plastic recycling in the UK.
The long-term partnership seeks to offer a solution for the mounting challenges associated with plastic pollution. The deal ties in to Ecosurety’s broader business objectives to provide high-level traceability for its customers and to stimulate recycling infrastructure in the UK.
The UK currently exports 66% of the plastic waste it collects for recycling[i] due to a lack of domestic recycling infrastructure. In its recent Packaging Recycling Obligations report (July 2018), the UK’s National Audit Office (NAO) criticised a six-fold increase in the UK’s exported packaging waste. It revealed that exported material is not quality controlled or audited and is often being sent to landfill sites abroad, unbeknownst to companies and consumers in the UK.
To help address this problem, Ecosurety is committing an estimated £3.2million to Recycling Technologies, over the partnership. This funding, will help accelerate Recycling Technologies’ chemical recycling capacity which enables mixed plastic waste currently disposed of in landfill or incinerators to be recycled into a valuable oil/wax raw material product named Plaxx®. Plaxx will be used in the production of wax and by the petrochemical companies as a feedstock for making new plastics.
In addition, Ecosurety has secured a fixed PRN price from Recycling Technologies which it can pass on to its base of over 1,000 customers. The fixed PRN price creates more stability into the recycling market. For producers who are obliged to purchase tens of thousands of PRN’s each year, it offers security of price without compromising on environmental integrity.
“This partnership is hugely exciting and aligns with our long-standing business objectives; to help provide the highest level of transparency and best price for our customers’ recycling solutions”
Of the estimated 3.3million tonnes of plastic waste generated in the UK each year, 32% is collected for recycling. Much of the 2.2million tonnes of remaining plastic waste is unrecyclable. This includes films, coloured plastics and laminated plastics (eg crisp packets).
These common plastic waste products are currently incinerated or sent to landfill sites, negatively impacting the environment. Investment in innovative companies such as Recycling Technologies not only builds UK business capacity and creates jobs, it addresses urgent environmental issues by reducing the quantity of recycling that the country is forced to export or send to landfill.
James Piper, Managing Director of Ecosurety said: “There is an urgent need for more plastic recycling capacity in the UK so that we can ensure high levels of transparency in this sector. Working together with Recycling Technologies, Ecosurety is improving the potential capacity of our existing recycling market. This partnership is hugely exciting and aligns with our long-standing business objectives; to help provide the highest level of transparency and best price for our customers’ recycling solutions”.
Adrian Griffiths, CEO, Recycling Technologies said: “We share a common vision with Ecosurety, to drive growth and innovation in the UK plastic recycling market. Our chemical approach to recycling residual plastics means PRN certificates from Recycling Technologies will be of significant value to Ecosurety’s retail and FMCG customers looking to invest in building the domestic recycling infrastructure.
“We chose to enter into this three year contract with Ecosurety to accelerate our growth and expand our capacity to recycle more plastic waste here in the UK, reducing the country’s dependence on exporting, landfilling and incinerating plastic waste.”