New research shows more household plastics could be recycled

The UK produces around 1.4m tonnes of mixed plastic packaging waste every year - including yoghurt pots, salad bags and ready meal trays. And this figure is growing by 2-5% every year. Although it makes up only 9% of household weight by waste, its volume means it stands out in the average person's bin.

New research from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) reveals recycling household plastics can be cost-effective and environmentally friendly.
There is currently a 'Catch 22' situation, with few local authorities prepared to collect plastic waste other than bottles, as there is limited potential for them to be recycled. However, this also means there is a lack of such plastics available for companies to develop new processes and products or create new markets.
 
The research showed that, on balance, the best environmental option is to invest in technology to produce high quality recycled plastics. Landfill is the least favourable option for disposing of plastics waste and in terms of global warming potential, incineration of plastic packaging was the worst option because more CO2 is emitted generating the same amount of energy by burning plastics compared to gas or coal.

Source: Resource Recovery Forum Email News Service