Sustainable value “From April 2022, companies that use


or import plastic packaging that doesn’t


contain at least 30% recycled content may have to pay a packaging tax.”


Here, Berry bpi details how they can add value to plastic packaging through recycled content.


In recent years, environmental concerns and the need to recycle plastic has captured the hearts of the nation. Consumers, retailers, major brands and manufacturers are more aware than ever before that products must be sustainable if we hope to protect our planet for future generations.


In the UK, recycling rates have come a long way. The UK now recovers 78% of plastic packaging, supported by policy announcements from governments and businesses.


The UK Plastics Pact has seen more than 100 companies throughout the plastic packaging value added supply chain who collectively are responsible for a significant proportion of all single-use plastic packaging, signing a deal to reduce plastic waste by 2025. A spate of policies – from banning plastic straws to making consumers pay a deposit on drinks bottles – have followed, with policymakers keen to respond to growing public awareness of the issue of plastic leaking into the environment.


According to Government figures, plastic packaging accounts for half of all plastic used in the UK, and 67% of plastic waste (source: PDF). The vast majority of the 2m tons of plastic packaging used each year is made from new, rather than recycled, plastic. This is because, despite the smaller environmental footprint of using recycled plastics, it is simply easier for processors and packaging specifiers to use what they have always used: virgin or prime raw materials.


“


To level the playing field, the government is moving the goalposts. From April 2022, companies that use or import plastic packaging that doesn’t contain at least 30% recycled content may have to pay a packaging tax.


A result of the European Commission’s plan to set new EU-wide rules to target the 10 single-use plastic products that make up 70% of all marine litter, other EU countries are following suit. In France, for example, products without recycled plastic packaging will cost up to 10% more from now on. In Germany, new packaging laws have resulted in the national plastic packaging target recycling rate rise to 63% for 2022.


On a mission One company set to play a key role in this new world


18 | FEATURE (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20181018IPR16524/plastic-oceans-meps-back-eu-ban-on-throwaway-plastics-by-2021)


(https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-plastics/france-to-make-unrecycled-plastic-bottles-more-expensive-idUSKBN1KY13T) (https://www.packaginglaw.com/news/germany-increase-plastic-and-other-packaging-recycle-rates)


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of recycling is Berry bpi, a leading manufacturer of packaging films and one of Europe’s largest recyclers of plastic packaging.


Berry bpi has spent decades designing and engineering plastic products with sustainability in mind. Adhering to the United Nation’s Brundtland Commission definition of sustainable development – meeting the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs – Berry bpi is on a mission to ensure as much plastic packaging as possible makes its way back into new products.


At its five UK recycling sites – four of which are accredited with Zero Waste to Landfill status – Berry bpi takes in both pre-consumer and post-consumer plastics. This includes the stretch wrap used to wrap silage or shrink wrap to package goods on pallets, as well as other common consumer goods packaging.


For the pre-consumer film, most of which comes from companies within Berry bpi, this starts with sorting and dry recycling processes to separate the different materials. The post-use agricultural film that arrives must also be sorted; some is silage stretch or sheeting, and some are horticultural films, used for polytunnels. Meanwhile, the post-consumer film comes in from a range of waste management companies in a pre-sorted state.


To minimise contamination in the reprocessed polymer, all the plastic films go through a washing process to remove paper labels and dirt, creating a washed flake that can be fed into the recycling machines. The recycling process ends with plastic pellets which, after they have been checked rigorously for quality, can be then used to remake a range of plastic materials and products.


One of these products is the increasingly popular Green Sack range, used widely in the facilities management and cleaning sectors. Made from recycled plastic, these refuse sacks are the toughest and greenest UK-manufactured sacks on the UK market: this is because they are made using recycled bale wrap, giving them superior performance and up to 10 times the tear resistance of other refuse sacks.


https://www.bpf.co.uk/sustainability/plastics_recycling.aspx http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/the-uk-plastics-pact https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/819465/Summary_of_responses_to_the_plastic_packaging_tax_consultation_di


The company’s range also has a wider refuse and healthcare portfolio, including: domestic waste, compactor and compostable sacks, caddy liners, and clinical waste


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