Vanden weighs in on Plastics roadmap
November 15, 2018
The UK-based plastics recycler has been offering its views on the UK Plastics Pact Roadmap, saying it “looks good” but requires more on recyclability.
Vanden has welcomed the UK Plastics Pact Roadmap but has called for more work on the recyclability of plastic packaging.
The recycler also questioned whether a possible increase in supposed compostable plastics would make recycling messaging less effective while also leading to more contamination of recycling streams.
Vanden UK managing director David Wilson said: “There is a lot in the UK Plastics Pact Roadmap to 2025 that is very positive. As a UK plastics recycler, we would certainly hope that this leads to more demand for recycled content and increased investment in UK plastic recycling capacity.
“However, there are some things we would question. We want to see more detail on recyclability of packaging as this is the key to getting the whole recycling process right. We need to ensure that products are designed simply using one material so that sorting and recycling are easy. This also makes it easier for labelling for the consumer too.
“We also have concerns that the UK Plastics Pact will investigate compostable plastics in the run up to 2025. We are already seeing more signs of increased use of compostable plastic packaging. This has the impact of more contamination of existing plastic recycling streams, and the potential for these products to still contaminate the environment unless they are broken down in industrial composting processes.
“Compostable plastics will also make it more difficult to provide effective recycling messages to consumers by providing a product that will need them to sort it separately from existing plastics into a composting stream.”
Categories : Around the Industry
Tags : Packaging Plastics Recycling UK UK Plastics Pact Vanden
